Good For the Soul
by ClosetFMAfan
Summary: It started as a small crush, but lasted across deserts, countries, snow covered mountians, and even Truth itself. Interconnected AlMei oneshot collection
1. Welcome

**Welcome!**

**I'm going to have to explain myself a little here. I really am very sorry to keep you way from the story, but this is just explaining the formatting and the guidelines ect so if you don't want to you can just skip ahead to the first chapter. I would suggest reading this though.**

**This story makes me so excited, because I love AlMei so much. It is quite frankly the cutest pairing I have ever encountered in my entire life. When you add two annoying brothers and their respective loves interfering… it's just too much fun.**

**This used to be a collection of oneshots, but then as I went along I realized and some reviewers made the comment that it was becoming so interconnected and the chapters were following such a strict timeline (seriously, you can ask me the date of any of the chapters and I'll be able to tell you) that it really wasn't anymore, if it ever was. You might be able to see that as you go along. But it's not really one large continuous story since it doesn't follow one plot story (unless you count Al and Mei falling in love/their lives together which I guess you could...). So it's just somewhere in the middle.**

**I update every Sunday, almost always without fail. As mentioned before, all of the "oneshots" follow a timeline that I have stashed in a falling-apart notebook upstairs on a desk in my room and as such are highly interconnected. They are grouped together based on time periods. For example, most of the stories 1-23 take place while Al's in Xing or in Amestris. Occasionally I will go back and write something in backwards order, but that will be clearly stated in the chapter note. AUs are going to be popping up, not frequently, but every so often.**

**There will be heavy EdWin and LingFan and probably a healthy dose of Royai too, as well as other canon pairings. Expect lots of cute fluffy shots full of embarrassing moments. There will be dark moments, (you know, blood, assassinations, pain, small scale heartbreak) but on the whole it's happy. I like happiness. **

**I'll take a moment here to tell you all up front that I don't Fullmetal Alchemist. I don't, never have, and never will. As sad as that makes me.**


	2. When Laughing Gets Carried Too Far

Mei honestly had no idea how it happened. One minute she was being nonchalantly invited into Alphonse's bedroom so she could hand him the soup he had requested from the kitchens, the next they were laughing hysterically on the bed, soup lying forgotten on the bedside table. She was currently clutching her side as Al tried (and failed) to contain his frantic laughter.

"You're kidding!" Mei laughed.

"I'm not!" Al replied. "And then she pushed him into the fountain and-" Here Al had to break off to try (and fail, again) to quell his laughter "said 'If you don't go back there and get me a proper gift, you will never be able to properly walk again'!"

The tale he was currently relating happened to be about Winry's birthday last year and how Ed had shown up with a box full of screws as a present. Needless to say, Winry had not been happy.

The two burst into a fresh bout of laughter. At this point Mei gave up any semblance of dignity and was rolling around on the bed, kicking her feet up in the air. Al had long since given up, which was well represented from by his loose tie, crumpled shirt, and messed up hair from a few too many times running through it with his hands.

Once they had caught their breath enough to resume talking, Mei sat up and eagerly asked,

"What happened after that?"

"Then brother, he-" Very unmanly giggle, "he got out of the fountain and stood up, but then she threw the wrench at his head and he fell right back in!" Mei fell back down onto the bed as she lost the will to remain upright. Al flopped down a few moments later and the laughed until they could laugh no more. That was until they caught sight of the other's face and would continue laughing for no apparent reason.

Finally, they both stopped, though one would occasionally giggle. Both were left breathing hard, almost panting. Al lifted a hand and placed it on his chest.

"Who would have thought laughing could make your heart race so fast," he commented. Mei smiled at him.

"I love laughing," she commented. "It's so carefree. And just, happy." He smirked at her.

"It's nice to be able to just laugh like that," he agreed. The conversation died off for a moment.

"So, did he end up getting her something nice?" Mei questioned, eventually. Al smirked again.

"Yeah, he ended up buying her a new bracelet with our names written on it. We were already talking about leaving at that point, so he thought she might like something a little more solid than memories to remember us by."

"Who would have thought your brother could have been capable of something so sensitive!" This made both of them laugh again.

"Hey, that's not fair!" Al proclaimed, "Brother can be sensitive! The moments are just few and far between. "

"Yeah, like once a year for Winry's birthday! This is the first time I've ever heard about your brother being nice!"

"Hey, weren't you the one who crossed the desert falling asleep dreaming about his face?"

"That was before I met him!" Mei shrieked. "He's a brute!"

"He can be rather brute-ish, can't he?" Al conceded.

"Can be?"

"Oh come on, we are talking about the boy I've spent idolizing practically my entire life! Let me spin him in a good light."

"I will," Mei said cheekily, "once he has one!" Al howled with laughter at that comment and Mei joined him once again in the insane laughter.

"You are evil, you know that right?" Al said, once he could breathe again. She grinned hugely at him, but it died off when she saw the slightly evil look in his eyes.

"Alphonse…?" she questioned.

"And the evil must be punished!" he yelled before he threw himself on top of her. At first she was too shocked at the unexpected action to do anything, until his fingers started attacking her stomach and she started shrieking with laughter.

"Guess I know where you're ticklish now!" he yelled over her laughter.

"No! Stop! Stop it you brute! You're as bad as your brother!" she screamed through the peals of laughter.

"Never!" he proclaimed. "You must be punished for insulting the Elric pride!" Mei tried to swat away his fingers, but the blows were weak and all together not near enough to deter the attacking Amestrian.

"Stop it AL! I can't breathe! STOP!"

"Sorry, what was that, Princess? I couldn't hear you," he laughed at her.

"What in the name of Xing is going on in here?" Mei and Al both stopped laughing immediately, turning to look at the Emperor in the doorway. Apparently, when Mei had walked in almost half an hour ago to give Al his long since forgotten soup, she had left the door ajar. Lan Fan was standing, as always, right behind Ling and was looking at the two of them with enough alarm to prove just how inappropriate this looked.

Not only was Al practically on top of Mei, but his hair was in complete disarray, as well as his clothing. Mei looked equally disheveled and had been recently shrieking for Al to stop at the top of her lung for the entire Imperial palace to hear. They were also alone in Al's bedroom, lying on Al's bed, and both out of breath.

Needless to say, both turned bright red and rolled away from each other in a few seconds.

"Mei? What was going on?" Ling asked, trying to stay calm, but with a dangerous edge. Mei blushed again and stared at her feet.

"Nothing, we were just fooling around."

"Just fooling around?" he half-shrieked, not sounding at all like the Emperor of Xing, Son of the Morning Star, should. "What do you mean you were just fooling around!"

"Nothing," she replied again. Ling turned to Al, trying to regain his calm.

"And what about you Alphonse? What were you doing with my sister?" Al looked absolutely mortified. His cheeks were the brightest red any of the Xingess had ever seen on a human being and the tips of his ears just as close.

"Uh," he said scratching the back of his neck, "Well, she insulted brother, so I decided death by tickling would be an apt punishment."

"Wha-wh-"

"We were just joking around," Mei said, almost sullenly.

Ling's eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his head. It probably wouldn't have looked too out of place if one of his eyes started twitching either.

"Al- if you ever- I can't believe- just try-GAH!" Al, Mei, and Lan Fan all jumped as Ling exclaimed exasperated and stalked out of the room. Hurrying up as to not get left behind, Lan Fan ran after him, shooting a strange glace back at the awkward couple in the room.

Absolute silence reigned in the room for a full minute until it was broken when Al and Mei looked directly at each other and promptly started laughing.


	3. Kitty Cat

Al was acting differently than usual, Mei had decided. Definitely not normal, that was for sure. He wouldn't make eye contact with a number of people, including her, even when he did emerge from his room. The few lessons she did manage to make him sit through—ones she spent a good portion of her time preparing for him— he usually spent staring off into space. Their last lesson she had spent a whole hour before she went to bed the night before preparing, but he had canceled it in favor of spending time in his room.

It had all started about a week ago. Mei had been requested to go and help clear up some damage done by the late moonson season and had offered to take Al, who was now well on his way to becoming a proficient alkahestrist. It had taken a while—getting him to understand that he had to trust his feelings not science had taken forever to drill through his skull—but they seemed to have breached the barrier. He was learning faster than she had anticipated now.

Anyways, he had declined in favor of taking a walk. Mei had shrugged and left. It hadn't been a big deal for her and she was soon on her way back to the palace. On her way there, however, she ran into the alchemist. Literally.

"Sorry, Alphonse!" she said as she crawled over to where he was lying in the dust by the side of the road. Xiao Mei, who was saved from the fall by gripping tightly to Mei's neck, squeaked and scurried over to the man as well, only to reel back a few moments later.

"Xiao Mei?" she questioned. In response, she hissed at Al. Mei looked questioningly at her panda, but helped Al up anyways. "What did you do to make Xiao Mei mad at you all of a sudden?" Al stood up, but he seemed to be standing in an odd position, holding his arm under his coat and away from his body. "Al, are you alright?"

"What, oh, no I'm fine." She eyed him suspiciously. It looked like he was holding his other arm as if it was injured.

"Are you sure, Al? If you're hurt you should tell me—"

"No, I'm fine," he cut her off quickly. Mei frowned and he smiling innocently. At one point she would have left it at that and gone on her way, but she had spent too much time with him. Al was by far the least devious and proud of the two Elrics, but he when he was wearing a face like this she knew he was either hiding something or trying to avoid scaring anyone with his injuries.

"Positive?" He nodded enthusiastically. Her eyes narrowed, but she let it go.

"Okay." Al smiled at her, and walked away in the opposite direction, still holding his arm at the odd angle. As she lingered behind to see if she could catch him, she heard him muttering things under his breath as he walked.

* * *

><p>The next day he canceled their lesson and spent the entire day inside his room, only emerging for a brief lunch and to grab food from the kitchen. Mei caught him at that too, but the food was wrapped up in cloths, so she couldn't tell what it was.<p>

"Oh, hey Mei. Sorry about our lesson. Really important business to attend to, you know?"

"Yeah…" He smiled at her again and scurried away.

"Wait, Alphonse!" she called after him. "What are you doing?" Instead of replying, he raised his hand and waved at her. Huffing, she turned around and ordered her own food from the kitchen.

Over the course of the week, Xiao Mei just didn't seem right either. She kept growling at random places around the palace. That combined with her earlier reaction to Al and Al's own shiftiness had her completely befuddled. What on earth was going on? It frustrated her further that no one else seemed to take any alarm in this at all.

"Mister Alphonse is merely seeking time to himself, Princess. It can be excused if he does not spend every moment with you," one twinkle-eyed guard she had often confided in told her, obviously holding back a smile.

"That's not what I mean!" she protested. "It's more than him not wanted to spend time with me, he's acting guilty! And Xiao Mei is feeling nervous too." Giving up on the prospect of holding back the smile and instead holding back a laugh, the guard answered her with a teasing look in his eye.

"Perhaps he is preparing a surprise for Your Highness."

"Oh, bah!" she explained, turning red and throwing up her hand in defeat. Behind her she could hear the guard laughing. Unfortunately she got the same response from almost everyone else. They all seemed to delight in teasing her. Sure she had had a small crush—okay, a huge crush—on him for a few years, but she had grown out of that! For the most part. Slightly. A little. Not really, but that wasn't the point.

It's not like she was as obvious about it anymore. She hadn't, as Ling called it, "tackle hugged" him since he had fought through a crowd of hungry farmers for her favorite dumplings last week. Which had been before this whole fiasco started. Anyways, it wasn't like she was obvious. Right now she was his teacher and there was no room for her to be showing that sort of affection. A point which Ling seemed to bring up quite a bit, to her annoyance.

"Really Chang, aren't teachers supposed to be platonic towards their pupils? If you really miss him so much I can buy you a puppy or something."

"Oh, very funny Yao. I'm seriously worried about him. I've never seen Alphonse act like this unless he was sick, hurt, or planning something that doesn't bode well for everyone else." The Emperor, who was leaning over a map of roads between the clan providences, shook his head.

"Just give him some space Mei. If there was anything wrong, he would have told someone. Trust me."

After a day, she had been slightly worried. Two days had made her start asking around to see if anyone knew if there was something wrong with him. Maybe it had been a little early, but a full week later she felt fully justified in feeling worried. He had only come to three of their usual seven or eight lessons, not to mention skipping out on their usual activities. He had even turned down going out into the market, something he thoroughly enjoyed doing.

"There's something wrong, Xiao Mei," Mei told her panda. "I don't know what it is, but I am going to find out. He's worrying me." The small panda nodded and grabbed onto one of Mei's thin braids. Taking that as a "I'll be right behind you" sign, she squared her small shoulders (even now at 16 years of age, Mei still remained both frustratingly short and lean) and marched down the halls towards Al's room. It was in a better part of the palace, usually reserved for the most important visitors to the palace, which, Mei considered, Al technically was, as an Ambassador of Amestris and a close personal friend of His Majesty.

When she arrived in front of his door, she heard something fall to the ground and crash loudly. Al started yelling something she couldn't understand from the other side of the door only to be answered with another crash.

"Alphonse? What's going on in there?" she called through the door, hammering on it with her fist. There was sudden silence then hurried footsteps. A door slammed and then the door was opened just a small portion. Al stood in front of her in a baggy shirt she recognized as something he wore when doing manual labor in Resembool.

"Hi, Mei. What's wrong?" he asked in a breathless voice. He looked awful. His hair was uncared for, he had bags, and his arms looked red and scarred.

"You!" Mei replied, mouth open in shock. "Al, what happened to you? Did you get attacked?" He scratched the back of his head and the sleeve fell down revealing more scratches and scars. His mouth was open in his characteristic awkward laugh.

"Well, yeah. Don't worry Mei, I promise it's not that big of a deal. It's actually a funny story. I'll have to tell you some—" He was cut off when Xiao Mei jumped off Mei's shoulder and landed on the front of his shirt. "Wha— Ow!" The small panda started clawing her way up his shirt and when Al tried to pull her off she dug her claws further into his shirt, and as such, his skin. "Ow! Xiao Mei, stop!" However the panda made her way up his shirt and onto his shoulder where she jumped off and into the room behind her.

"Xiao Mei!" Mei called and ran after her friend, ducking under Al's arm. "Come back!" She cashed the panda through the room, until she came to the door that led off into what Mei knew to be Al's dressing room. Xiao Mei was scratching at the door as if trying to claw her way inside it.

"What's wrong?" she asked her, but the panda paid her no attention. When Mei scooped her up, she began fighting against Mei's hands and trying to get free. "Stop it! Xiao Mei, stop!" Finally she stopped struggling, even though she was making the equivilant of dirtly looks towards the closet.

"Just what are you keeping in there, Alphonse?" she asked, turning around. When she did however, she actually internalized his room.

It was a disaster. There were clothes lying all over the place, the bed sheets were messed up and torn, and all of the careful trinkets that had littered his desks last time she was in the room where all on the ground or smashed.

"What happened in here?" she asked, incredulously. "It looks like a war zone!"

"It's nothing Mei. But, could I barrow Xiao Mei for a bit?"

"What? Why? No! What happened?" He sighed a brushed his hair out of his face.

"You're sounding too much like Winry. I promise I'm okay. Now," he plucked a still squirming Xiao Mei out of her hands, "please leave. I have some business to attend to. See you later!" Then he politely shoved her out the door.

* * *

><p>Now deprived of her longtime friend as well as her normal form of entertainment, Mei spent more and more time agonizing over the disappearing acts Al kept pulling. No matter what she tried to get him to do he would always find some way to sneak away and go back to his war zone of a room. She was severely tempted to simply lurk by his door and catch him at whatever it was he was doing, but the manners her mother and various servants around the clan capital had managed to hammer into her head prevented her.<p>

Instead she had to wait around and wonder what on earth was going on. It was infuriating; worse than sitting through a court session without anyone to make snide comments to. Which was saying something rather serious, in Mei's opinion.

So when a messenger finally ran up to Mei and told her that Ambassador Elric would like to see her in his quarters, she ran as fast as she could towards his rooms. The moment she knocked on the door it was opened and he pulled her inside by the wrist.

"This better be an explanation!" she panted. "I want to know what's been going on in here!" Al smiled widely and waved his arm to the bed where Xiao Mei (with a ribbon around her neck which seemed to make the panda none too happy) was sitting on his bed next to a pure white cat with a similar ribbon. She looked blankly at him, confused.

"Here's your explanation!" he proclaimed happily. "She's for you!" Mei was still extremely confused and Al must have mistaken her confusion for another emotion because his face soon fell.

"Do you not like her?"

"Wait, what? I'm confused. What's going on?"

"I found her on my way home from my walk a week ago. She was trying to get out from under a fallen beam and she reminded me of you. She was a bit more of a handful than I had originally anticipated, but now she's potty trained, knows not to jump on furniture except for beds, and she gets along with Xiao Mei!" This was proved further when said panda crawled over to the kitten and curled up next to her. Mei couldn't help from smiling at the sight.

"Do you like her?" Al asked again. Mei walked over to the cat and rubbed her hand through the white fur. The kitten was sleeping and her breathing was even, but still faster than a normal human being.

"Alphonse… she's absolutely precious!" Al smiled widely. "I love her!"

"What do you want to name her? I didn't name her on purpose so that you could."

"I like An."

"An?" Mei nodded and looked up at Al, smiling.

"It means peace. Even though it looks like she has afforded you none," Mei said, as Al's arms were still scratched up and his room thoroughly trashed. He laughed and walked over to the bed to pet the kitten as well.

"I still like it." As Al scratched the top of the cat's head she opened her mouth wide and yawned. They both smiled at each other, until Xiao Mei decided that the newcomer was getting too much attention. She stole said attention by taking a large bite of Al's fingers.

They could hear the Amestrian's scream of pain and Mei's laughter in the throne room.

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><p><strong>This is also dedicated to my own cat Nikki and Al for his love of kitty cats because they are adorable.<strong>


	4. When the Storm Comes

**This story was inspired in part by browse. Deviantart ?q=AlMei&order=9&offset=120#/d2rz1bq . When I saw it strolling through the AlMei pictures I immediately thought "Hmmm, how would they act if they were mad? And what on earth could make them super mad at each other? As you will see after reading this... I couldn't really come up with an answer to the second one. Maybe while they were training and she fell down a tree and he laughed at her. I really don't know. Imagine what you will. But I like the way this one turned out.**

The Imperial Palace of Xing was not a peaceful place. Between the general chaos of being the capital of a fairly important country, His Imperial Majesty and his constant pranks and goofing off, and the Chang Princess Mei (plus one tiny sized panda to egg her on), peace had become a thing of the past. Still, there was a sense of normalcy to the chaos. As the Elrics could attest to, when everything about you from your personality to your very own bodies was odd, there wasn't much that could throw you— very much.

But when Mei and Alphonse were fighting, nothing felt right.

Visitors during those times would always wonder why servants would stop and snap at each other and the work was never done 100% correctly. Everyone would stare at the unsightly manner in which the guards would fidget and shuffle. However, once the circumstances were explained, no one question the Emperor's constant agitation and looks over his shoulder or Lan Fan's tight grip on her weapon.

As for the causes of the trouble, Al could always be found in the library slamming books, mumbling under his breath, and breaking pencils. As a rule, he was left alone to fume. Even though he was and always would be the calmer and more gentle-mannered of the Elrics, no one could forget the first servant to bug him in "The Mood" who had ended up spending the next seven months with Xing's most respected physiologist. The man had been trapped under the library floorboards for three days before anyone heard his screaming. After the inevitable make-up, Al had gone to apologize to the poor man, only to have him run away screaming and spend another month in professional care. Needless to say, Al never lived _that _one down.

Mei, however, would disappear for long periods of time. To where, no one knew or frankly wanted to find out. The Princess was a menace at the best of times, when she was angry… being trapped under the library floorboards for three days was a blessing. When indeed she did appear, usually for meals or necessary arrangements, small scenes of large scale disaster were sure to follow.

What was the argument about you ask? No one really knew. The two were seen stomping down the mountain where they usually went to meditate together and immediately separated. Usually the two would spend the next few hours talking about things they had thought of while sitting there. This time, however, Alphonse went directly to the library and Mei to that mysterious place everyone knew better than to follow her to. Both of them had long since forgotten what the argument was even about, but neither was about to forget their anger.

"You know, for being so polite and nice, he really is stubborn," Ling told Lan Fan in confidence. "And Mei… she's always been a stubborn mule—"

"I HEARD THAT!" With a very un-manly squeak, the Emperor dove under the nearest table curled in fetal position. Sighing, Lan Fan moved to cover the table protectively and made sure her weapons were within an easy grabbing distance. A short while later, the short princess stalked into the room, simply oozing danger.

"Lan Fan, move. I would like to talk to my spineless brother."

"Don't do it!" he shrieked. The Yao guard shifted slightly, and eyed the Chang heiress. Then, slowly, she stepped to the side.

"Traitor!" Ling yelled at her.

"Young Lord, this issue must be resolved. Now is as good a time as any."

"You do realize you just killed me right! You're the worst bodyguard ever!"

"Oh stop being a baby, Ling!" Mei snapped.

"Is she on her time of month too?" Ling mumbled under his breath.

"Excuse me?"

"Nothing Chang." Mei glared at her half-brother, who had emerged from under the table. Then Ling shrieked (_I really need to stop doing that, it's really undignified, _he thought to himself in the small part of his brain that wasn't regretting never telling Lan Fan… things…)yet again as she collided with him. He was about to call for Lan Fan to save him, until he realized that Mei was NOT trying to kill him, but hug him.

"Uh… Chang, are you alright?" Mei let go and _smiled_ at him.

"Yeah, I just wanted to say thank you for all you've done for my clan. For Xing, even. You're not too bad of an Emperor. Too bad. So, thanks."

"Well, uh… you're welcome?" he said, looking around awkwardly. "Uh… why are you telling me this now?"

"I'm going back to my clan. I haven't seen them in a while and I would like to go back," she said easily. Ling frowned.

"This doesn't have anything to with your fight with Al, does it?"

"Of course not! My leaving has nothing to do with that stubborn, selfish, insensitive jerk!" Thinking to himself about the absurdity of those adjectives in accordance to Alphonse Elric, Ling nodded in a disbelieving way.

"Whatever you say, Mei."

Mei threw a dirty look at Ling and stomped out of the room mumbling about Yao pigs. His Imperial Majesty starred at the blue and black whirlwind (blue had recently become Mei's new favorite color) until she was out of sight and hearing before turning to Lan Fan sharply.

"We have to get to the library, now!"

* * *

><p>"Should I, Xiao Mei?" The small panda nodded her head enthusiastically. Mei frowned.<p>

"No I shouldn't! He's being a pig so I see no reason to," she said, crossing her arms. "But then again, it may be a long time until I see him again. Do you think I should—" At this Xiao Mei started chattering angrily, cutting off Mei's argumentive tirade. The poor thing had been sitting there for an hour just listening to Mei debate over whether she would say good-bye to Al before leaving or not.

"I'm sorry Xiao Mei. I really should just make up my mind." Sitting down, she crossed her arms and frowned. If she didn't go, she knew she would end up regretting it eventually. On the flip side, she didn't want to go. He was being a stubborn jerk and if she said goodbye that would almost be forgiving him, which she would not do. But then again…

"I'll do it," she eventually decided. However as she stood up to walk to the library, she discovered that she wouldn't have to walk that far. A soft knocking was coming from her solid wood door. Opening it revealed Al, who had obviously just been locked in the same internal debate as she had been.

"Oh, uh, hi Mei," he said tentatively. In response, Mei crossed her arms menacingly.

"What do you want?"

"Uh, can I come in?" Mei took a look at him. He didn't look to good. It was obvious he had been skipping meals and sleep. The few hours of sleep he had gotten were probably done with his check pressed to a book page because his clothes were rumpled and looked (and smelled) a few days old. There were dark circles under his haunted eyes.

Without saying a word, she turned around and gestured for him to follow her. Al followed quietly and stood around awkwardly in the room—Mei had taken the only chair and he didn't want to sit down on her bed.

"So, what do you want?" she asked again.

"You're actually going?" he asked in reply. He sounded sad, not at all angry like the last few times they had talked. Mei sighed heavily.

"Was it Ling or Lan Fan who told you?"

"Ling." There was a semi-awkward silence.

"Mei, I—"

"Al, I—" They started at the same time.

"Oh you go—"

"Go ahead—"

"No you—"

"I insist—" Unwillingly, both had to smile.

"You go first," Al said firmly.

"Uh, okay. Well, goodbye, Al. Sorry things ended like this. I hope you can enjoy the rest of your stay in Xing." Trying to make it less painful (_For him or for me?_ she wondered to herself), she turned around and tried to find something else to throw into the suitcase on her bed.

"I won't though," Al said quietly behind her. "Not without you here." A blush crept across Mei's face and she smiled before reminding herself that she was angry.

"I'm sure there are plenty of other people who would be happy to teach you alkehestry," she replied briskly. "You are pretty important in Amestrian politics and a friend of the Emperor's; you'll have no trouble."

"Alkehestry…" Al repeated dumbly. "That's all you think you are to me?"

"Well—"

"Mei, you're a lot more to me than just a teacher!" His outburst made her turn his head to look at him. He had taken an almost defensive position and was glaring at her as if she had insulted someone important to him.

"What do you mean?" she asked cautiously.

"If you think I only think of you as a teacher, you're seriously mistaken, Mei. You're a lot more than that. You're probably the closest person to me other than Brother and Winry. I don't want you to go."

While Mei was still trying to process the information, he closed the distance between them and wrapped his arms around her small frame in a tight hug. Mei took a deep breath and smiled at the smell. There was nothing quite like Al's smell. It was a mix of books, fresh cooking, the streets of Xing, and a clean smell she had always associated with the Resembol. It was also possible to smell faint traces of steel.

"I'm sorry," he whispered in her ear. "I don't even remember what we were fighting about, but I'm sorry. Just please don't leave." Mei let herself relax into his arms. How could she not when faced with such strong arguments?

It was if a giant storm cloud had passed over the palace. There was a visible de-tensioning.

Smiles started breaking out everywhere as the peace was restored. Previous arguments were forgotten. Ling could finally go to a meeting without looking over his shoulder every five minutes and Lan Fan finally returned to her _normal_ field of paranoia. Birds started feeling safe enough to sing again. Chaos returned as normal, because walking around the grounds discussing the possibilities of using alkehestry to help chimeras, Al and Mei were holding hands and smiling.


	5. You're My Princess

**Sorry about the no update last week guys, it was Christmas and things have been hectic ever since. I almost didn't post one this week, I had a huge thing going on on a different site (Artemis Fowl Confidential if you're a fan of Artemis Fowl. Really quaint place). This is one of my favorites, though when I first wrote it, it was horribly OOC. It's really late and I have to wake up early to go to *********. Whooohoooo!**

**I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist, but I do own Rou. He's... him.**

**Oh and I finally made the finishing touches on my timeline, so I can give more acurate timings now. This happenes while they're in Xing (nooooo, really?), Al's about 17 and Mei is 15, but almost 16.**

* * *

><p>Alphonse Elric was not a violent person by nature. That had always been his brother's job. Ed was the one who would rage, scream, yell, swear, and just about every other synonym thinkable. He was always the one who thought no problem couldn't be solved by alchemy, and on the slight chance it couldn't be, a fist to the face was a nice back up plan.<p>

Al wasn't like that. He was the rational sensitive one. No one who met him would go away offended. It just wasn't who he was.

But when he saw that Xingesse scum with his arm around Mei, **his** Mei, let's just say he wasn't himself.

Before that point, Al had been taking an early morning stroll through the Palace Gardens. Even though Ling had practically reformed the entire Palace ("The kitchens are on the OTHER SIDE of the Palace, Lan Fan, I had to change it!"), the Gardens were exactly the same and as such, had retained the full measure of beauty they had always possessed. Al, who hadn't been able to smell for four whole years of his life, relished the opportunity to stroll through the garden and simply breathe in the plethora of scents. This morning was different though, because when he walked around the citron bushes, he saw the previously mentioned pretty-boy with his arm around Mei.

Al had never wanted to cause someone harm so much in his life.

He tried to restrain the urge to hurt someone (him), he really did. _Remember, you are the good brother. Ed is the violent one. Control yourself,_ he told himself. There was a funny buzzing in his ears; where was that coming from? _Calm_, he reminded himself again. _Remember what Mei told you about calming techniques. In, out, in out. Okay, calm. Calm. I am calm. I will not break his arm for putting it around her. I will not._

That was until he bent down and kissed the top of her head. Then his brain just… shut down. Without even knowing how he got there, Al found himself walking right up to the two.

"Hello Mei, how are you this morning?" She turned to look at him and smiled. The man (_Must not kill, _he had to remind himself again) frowned at him slightly, looking a bit annoyed.

"Hello Alphonse," she said excitedly. "The flowers are particularly pretty today, don't you think?" Al smiled at her and nodded.

"They are. And they smell wonderful." Mei smiled knowingly at him, but didn't say anything because of the man standing at her shoulder. It would much more effort than it was worth to explain the whole armor-for-four-years thing to a man who was highly likely to randomly disappear and never return after a mysterious meeting with a stranger at night in some dark alley. _Perhaps he would enjoy meeting General Armstrong… _Al mused to himself.

"Oh, this is my childhood friend Rou Leit. His family took refuge with the Chang clan a year or two after I was born and we were two of four children growing up in the clan at that time." _Childhood friend… Hmm, that might make things a little more complicated._

"Oh, nice to meet you. My name is Alphonse, Alphonse Elric. I'm here studying Alkehestry under Mei." What he really wanted to say was more along the lines of "YOU SCUM. YOU DIRT LICKING SCUM! GET YOUR HANDS OFF HER YOU VILE WORTHLESS CONIVING LOW-LIFE!"

"Oh," There was a slight, almost imperceptible narrowing of the eyes, but Rou's voice showed no signs of anything but pleasantness. "So you're Alphonse. Mei talked almost non-stop about you when she returned back from Amestris." Al shrugged in polite humbleness. _You'd better believe it._

"I'm not the only thing she talked about, surely."

"Well there was a bit of harassing our new Emperor, but for the most part it was all you!" Rou laughed, even though his eyes were narrowing more and more. Al returned the gesture.

"Alphonse, I was thinking we could postpone out lesson for today, okay? I haven't gotten to catch up with Rou for a while, so I'll talk with you later." She waved to him happily then grabbed Rou's arm and they continued to walk in the garden.

Al started after them, eyes boring holes into the back of Rou's head. Oh what he wouldn't give for Elric telepathy right now. He really wished he had asked Ed how he had rigged the trap he had set up for the perspective boyfriend Winry had been checking out. There were spiked involved, he remembered that part… No, must not kill. Must not kill. He thought about it for a while.

Maiming probably wouldn't be a good idea either.

* * *

><p><em>Man, it's cold for this early in the season,<em> Rou thought to himself. He shrugged himself closer into the coat he was wearing. That was one of the major disadvantages of visiting the Capital city from the Chang providence. It was almost like the two places lived in completely different climates. How in the world could Mei stand to live here?

Cause of _him_. Rou glowered at the hallway in front of him. Cause Mei had to be wherever 'Alphonse' was. Because 'Alphonse' was just so powerful and sweet and charming and so wonderful! Rou got the strong urge to spit onto the street. Why did he have to be so... perfect? First he had to compete with the Fullmetal Alchemist, which was pretty much impossible considering Mei had made him out to be some sort of untouchable god. At least then he had been some almost fictitious character from a far off land. But now?

Rou had only met the man once and he already knew he was sunk. Compared to Rou, 'Alphonse' was the most perfect being on Earth. Blond hair, golden eyes, interest in Alkehestry, already a proficient alchemist himself, kind, sweet, polite ect. Rou looked just like every other Xingesse person you met in the street, had never gotten himself to understand or show interest in the mystical art Mei studied, had no other real skills to speak of, and said exactly what he meant whether that was 'nice' or not.

Rou continued down the hallway towards where he thought he was supposed to go for his meeting with Mei and the loathed one. Mei said she wanted to take a trip in the city, under the pretense of showing the Amestrian Ambassador around. Apparently they had used the mistake many times before with varying degrees of success. Just the thought of Mei and _him_ going off into the city alone and together made Rou's stomach turn.

In fact, there was that amazing golden haired pretty boy right there, only a few feet ahead. Rou was enjoying himself glaring at the figure until it put a hand on the wall and Rou fell down on his face. He looked around at his feet in confusion and saw nothing there to trip him. Sure, he wasn't the most nimble of guys, but he didn't trip over imaginary objects.

However, when he pulled himself up onto his feet he found a solid wall blocking his path. Well that was funny, he didn't remember that being there. Rou took a look at the directions Mei had given him to help him find the room they were going to meet in to leave.

_Take a right at the dragon post and continues straight until you see the door with the blue carving up the side of the door. I'll be in there!_

Maybe he had accidently taken a left at the dragon post. Rou went turned around and tried to retrace his steps only to find another solid wall in his way, but a hallway stretching out to the left. That's weird, Rou thought to himself as he started down the hall.

* * *

><p>Mei poked her head out the doorway again and looked both ways. When she pulled her head back in she wore an ever more confused face than before.<p>

"Where is he?" she murmured to herself. Al, who was sitting on the ground cross-legged shrugged.

"I don't know. I saw him earlier when I was coming over here, but he must have taken a detour or something. Mei turned to look at the Amestrian on the floor.

"I guess he doesn't want to come after all," she said quietly. Al shrugged again.

"I'm okay with just leaving. I'm sure he found something to entertain himself with." Mei smiled faintly and started out the door.

"Oh wait! I forgot something!" Al said shortly after starting down the hall in the opposite direction of where Rou should have been coming from. "I'll be right back, I promise!" Al ran down the hall to where the out of place wall was and pressed his palms against the surface. Both walls and the hallway he had created returned to their original positions. With a smile lacking the guilt that should have been there, Al ran back down toward the princess holding a pouch full of money.

* * *

><p>Still sullen at being forgotten, Rou spent the next few days in a sort of mope. Mei apologized profusely for leaving him behind as well as 'dear Alphonse', but there was a look in the Amertrian's eyes that said he was not very 'sorry' in the slightest.<p>

Obviously he had gotten the vibe that Rou did not believe his regret, as the third day after the incident he approached him with a wrapped tin.

"Listen, I really feel bad about the whole incident a few days ago," he begun. Rou glared at the Amestrian, not willing to accept any help from that man that was the source of him problems. "I feel as if it's partly my fault you got left behind because I was tired of waiting and wanted to leave. So, I got a recipe from my old friend and I took the liberty of making a pie for you."

Rou eyed the pie doubtfully.

"Don't worry, a few years ago I got really into food, so my baking's good. Trust me." The smell from the pie was wafting towards him with such a tantalizing aroma that he couldn't help but to reach out and grab the tin. He muttered a quick thank you and moved away.

The next morning Rou was found in bed with horrible reached from a pecan allergy. Al claimed to have no knowledge of this allergy, even though years later when visiting the small village Mei and Rou called home, the cook that so often cooked for both children would question Al why on earth he wanted to know Rou's various allergies.

* * *

><p>The next week was like living in a hell hole for poor Rou. Everywhere he went things seemed to go wrong. Random holes appeared in the ground in the areas he frequented and always seemed to disappear as soon as he got out. No one had sympathy for him, not a single one of the servants or the guard. Mei thought he was breaking into the Emperor's wine stores and Elric, well he was no help at all. In fact Rou had a sneaking suspicion that he was somehow the cause of all this.<p>

So, it was against his better judgment that when asked if he wanted to accompany Al to go and meet a few of the higher ups among Ling's court that he said yes.

* * *

><p>"Alphonse Elric!" Al jerked himself awake, alert for an attack. There was light streaming through the window which he was pretty sure he had left closed. He was still trying to figure out what was going on when a small dagger hit the headboard by his head.<p>

"What the… Mei, what's wrong?" he questioned the small Xingesse girl in front of him. She had her hands on her hips in an angry pose that reminded him vividly of Winry when she was about to yell at Ed. This could not be good.

"Do you know what happened to Rou last night?" Al blinked a few times.

"No?"Al started at her blankly.

"Oh really? Well the way I hear it you tried to make peace with him by taking him to a meeting with Ling's court. Where he ended up drunk and embarrassed himself in front of the most respected men in the country!"

"Really? I didn't know, I had to leave early," AL protested innocently. It was true, he had left extremely early, claiming that he had to wake up early for a lesson with Mei the next morning.

"Yeah, he ended up totally wasted. The odd thing is nobody ever saw him take a drink. Except a glass of grapejuice that you handed to him. Care to explain, Al?"

"…"

"You started the fermentation process in the drink and turned it into pure alcohol! You know how dangerous that is!" Al ran a hand through his hair with a weak, but guilty smile on his face.

"Actually, no I calculated just how much would get him intoxicated with one drink but not kill him. It was perfectly safe."

"That's not the point Al! Why would you do something like that? Was he rude to you? You should have come to me about something—"

"He had his arm around you!" Al shouted, breaking Mei off in the middle of her sentence. She stared at him in disbelief for a few seconds before retorting:

"Al, we're friends!"

"You wouldn't say that if you say the way he was looking at you," Al mumbled to himself. Mei tripped on the words she was about to yell at him. "No one's allowed to look at you like that. You're my Princess." Mei blushed profusely.

"That… that's still no excuse…" she said lamely. "You should go apologize. He passed out in his room. You can apologize when he wakes up. And you're doing nothing but meditating today. And probably for the next week. And I'm forbidding you from using alchemy at all for the next month." He nodded lamely.

"Can I at least get dressed first?" he asked meekly. She sighed and stalked out of the room.

Only once the door has shut behind her did she allow herself to smile.

"His Princess," she said to herself. "I like the ring to that."


	6. Letter Exchange

**Royal Greetings From Her Highness Princess Mei Chang, Daughter of the Son of the Morning Emperor Feng Xing by the Chang Clan, Favored Imperial Sister of the Son of the Morning His Highness Emperor Ling Yao, and the Named Heir to the Imperial Throne of Xing.**

**Dear Alphonse,**

**What a title, huh? Before Amestris I was just Princess Mei Chang Daughter of Emperor Feng Xing. Then we we got home and Ling became Emperor. He must have thought that I was the least likely to kill him and named me his temperary heir. Now I have so many titles it's hard to keep track of them all.**

**I'm sending this letter because I haven't seen you since the Promised Day and I don't know how up to date you are in everything that's going on here in Xing. Ling did become Emperor (I'm sure you know that though, I hear your new Fuhrer made a big deal about it) and yes, he did name me as his current heir. A lot of the Elders aren't very happy with some of the changes he's trying to make, but they're going along with it because the people are really happy with his work so far.**

**True to his promise, Ling is taking all of the clans under his wing. One of the first acts he made as Emperor (beside ordering a remake of the Palace so that the kitchens were closer to his room) was to abolish the laws that put higher taxes on trade between the lower clans. Now that that's gone it's a lot easier to create trade and, well, stay alive. Right now, his big project is improving the travel system between the clan Providences. Inside the higher up clans, roads and canals are all over the place and kept up well, and even in the Chang Providence we take pride in our well-kept roads, but roads connecting the clans aren't very efficient. It's been (and it going to be) a huge project and Ling's been hiring hundreds of men to design them and make them.**

**Anyways, how are things with you? How is your rehabilitation going? I imagine they wouldn't let you eat many solids in the hospital, so are you up to eating them now? I still remember from when we were in the Ishvalan slum how much you were looking forward to eating some of Winry's pie. She kept blushing and telling you that it wouldn't be as good as Mrs., I think it was Gracia's, but you told her you wouldn't hear of having any other type of pie before hers.**

**I hope you are well and getting stronger,**

**Mei**

**P.S. I hope this letter gets to you, I didn't know who to send it to because I wasn't sure if you were still in the hospital or if you had arrived in Resembool.**

* * *

><p><em>Dear Princess Mei Chang, Daughter of the Son of the Morning Emperor Feng Xing by the Chang Clan, Favored Imperial Sister of the Son of the Morning His Highness Emperor Ling Yao, and the Named Heir to the Imperial Throne of Xing,<em>

_It's really good to hear from you Mei. I was actually just thinking about you the other day before I got your letter. Yes I did get the letter; the hospital was kind enough to forward it to Resembool for me. I gave you my address on the slip of paper tucked in with this letter if you want to send anymore to me, it should reach me anytime you send it here._

_I'm really glad that Ling is keeping his promise. We heard about it when he became Emperor,;Fuhrer Grumman offered us transport to Xing to attend the ceremony, but I had barely made it through the train ride from Central to Resembool so we had to decline. I'm happy that your clan is finally getting the respect they deserve._

_You didn't mention how you and Ling are doing though. You're both still happy and healthy, right? I know that the Colonel is close to going mad from all the work he's doing in Ishval now that his eyes are healed. Have Ling and Lan Fan finally realized how in love they are? I half expected the message I had to give her from Ling was a love letter. That reminds me, how did you write your letter so well? I know you speak Amestrian fine (you were doing it well enough when you were here), but I didn't know you could write in it too._

_I am doing fine. Winry is being really strict on what I'm allowed to eat and what not, which I guess is for the best, but it means I'm only allowed once slice of pie when she makes it. Mei, that pie was worth waiting four years for. Well, to be honest everything was worth waiting four years for. Even just being able to take a drink of water is one of the most amazing things I think I've ever done. When I was a kid, I absolutely hated spinach. It was my least favorite food of all and now I could eat it all day. Ed's more than happy to let me eat his share, as well as his milk._

_Eating till he's fat in Amestris,_

_Al_

_P.S. I hope THIS letter gets to you. I'm not sure whether you're at the Palace or somewhere in the Chang providence so I'm sending it to the Palace and hoping that if you're not there that Ling will know where you are and send it there._

_P.P.S. Sorry for the bad handwriting. My hands aren't used to gripping a pen and to be honest, we've been working on getting my body used to more important things than writing. Sorry._

* * *

><p><strong>Dear Alphonse,<strong>

**I'm glad the letter got to you. When your reply didn't come I started worrying that you didn't get it but I guess that's just because it had to be forwarded twice. Right now I am home in the Chang Providence working on the roads, but I don't know when that's going to change. Ling wants me in the Capital for support. He isn't getting much of it from our other siblings or the rest of the court. I would suggest still sending your letters to the Palace, just in case. Ling can afford to forward them here better than we can forward them to the Palace.**

**I am doing fine, actually. Things have been so busy around here that I haven't had much time to actually consider being happy or sad to be honest. It's definitely an improvement over before though. You would think that since I failed in my quest to become Empress I would have been depressed and resentful, but the more I'm here and I see the things that Ling is doing I realize that it's was probably for the best. I'm actually probably happier here in Xing than I've ever been. Even though I failed, the entire Chang clan is treating me like a hero. So yes, I am happy.**

**As for the glutton (I'm sure that if Gluttony hadn't already been created, that's who would have taken over Ling instead of Greed), I think he's happy. We haven't gotten much of a chance to talk, but he seems to be happy the few times we have. Slightly stressed and probably overworked, but happy. Don't worry, Lan Fan will make sure he sleep and I don't think he'd ever have a problem remembering to eat. To answer your question: No they have not realized how in love they are. It's actually really pathetic. He keeps using the excuse that he's too young to start marrying the 50 wives, but I can tell he just doesn't want to have to go down that road.**

**As to how I wrote this letter, I didn't. I'm probably never going to figure out how to write with your silly letters. Since Ling is really big on strengthening ties with Amestris, he's made writing Amestrian almost a necessary skill to get hired as a scribe for anything. The man who is writing this letter for me is probably the only man in the southern part of Xing that's managed to figure out this silly language.**

**I'm really glad that you are getting along well. You should come to Xing once you're up to travel. Compared to the food here, the food there is chalk dust. There's just so many more spices and cooking styles here than it's possible to count. Literally, a side project Ling has going is trying to collect recipes from every providence for the cooks at the palace to learn. It's not going well. There's just too many. You have to try some of them. In fact, I'm including a list of ingredients for Fire Meat. I got it from one of the women out here working on the road so I'm not sure if that's all. Still, this should give you an idea.**

**Hoping you don't get too fat,**

**Mei**

**1/2 cup soy sauce**

**1 tablespoon sesame oil**

**2 tablespoons brown sugar**

**3 cloves garlic, crushed**

**1 large red onion, chopped**

**ground black pepper to taste**

**1 teaspoon red pepper flakes**

**2 tablespoons sesame seeds**

**2 leeks, chopped**

**1 small carrot, chopped**

**1 pound beef round steak, sliced paper thin**

* * *

><p><em>Dear Mei,<em>

_That's definitely a trip I'm going to have to make. If that's only one example of the type of food you have in Xing, I'll have to visit._

_Oh, Mei guess what? I walked all the way to the town without my crutch today! This is a big accomplishment; most of the doctors who have been watching me didn't expect me to start walking without my crutch until next year. The fact that I'm already doing it is huge, but it's really not that big of a surprise. I'm sure most of my doctors don't realize just how hard I'm working every day. Let me give you an example of what my schedule is like:_

_7:00 Wake up. Get dressed. Eat breakfast of eggs, skim milk (I can see why Ed doesn't like that stuff at least), toast, and lean bacon._

_8:00 Wake up brother_

_8:45 Go for walk with Den along river. Go for as long as possible_

_10:00 Rest until can walk again_

_12:00 Arrive back. Eat lunch. Stop Winry from killing Brother_

_1:00 Lifting weights_

_2:00 Work on penmanship/Write letters (Can you tell, my handwriting's much better than last letter)_

_2:30 Stop Winry from killing Ed_

_3:00 Nap_

_4:30 Walk Den down river again_

_6:00 Dinner then digestion (talking with family)_

_7:00 Cardio work_

_8:00 Hygiene time_

_8:30 Help out with anything they will let me help with_

_9:00- 10:00 Sleep until 7:00_

_So it's not really a surprise when you consider all of this (I think the most intense part is stopping Winry from killing Ed two times a day), but it's still impressive. True, I was so tired when I got to the village I almost had to be carried back, but that's beside the point. In a month or so I hope I won't even have to use it at all. I mean, I've had my body for almost nine months now. If that's enough time for a baby to be born, it should be enough time for my body to get back to normal._

_Anyways, I have to ask again because letters take so long to reach you and then for your reply to come back, how are you? You said Ling wanted you at the Palace for support, are you already there? If so, what type of stuff do you do there? I'm not very familiar with your government beside the 50 clans, one Emperor, set-up._

_By the way, __Col-, sorry,__ General Mustang was talking to us the other day about re-establishing the trains between Amestris and Xing. That's really exciting. This is supposed to be a big sign that alliances are really progressing. He said that it should be done in about another eight months. Just think about all that our countries could learn from each other, alchemy and alkahestry aside._

_Anyways, I have to go now._

_Excited for the future,_

_Al_

* * *

><p><strong>Dear Alphonse,<strong>

**Congratulation! I'm happy for you! Ling is too, as well as Lan Fan. You know, I think they had a bet going because when I told them Ling groaned and handed Lan Fan what looked like gold. Then he smiled and told me to tell you good job, but still. I knew you would be back to normal in no time.**

**I'm really excited about the trains too. Like you, I think the prospects of what our countries can learn from each other are very exciting. I can't wait, I'm so excited. Is it just me or did I just use the word excited a lot just then?**

**I don't really do much here; it's rather boring, actually. You see, in the throne room, Ling is sitting at the end of the hall, usually with Lan Fan lurking behind him. Sitting almost as his feet but a little to the right are the Elders, who are pretty much the most educated men in Xing. On either sides of the 'red carpet' are stands for the court to watch to proceedings. The court is basically all of our siblings, the previous Emperor's sibling (our uncles and aunts), any clan leaders at the Capital, and the richer and more influential citizens of Xing. Basically what we do is sit there.**

**All**

**Day**

**It's annoying. I usually end up having a conversation with Xiao Mei or doodling under on a pad of paper. (1) It's mostly just Ling talking with the Elders. Sometimes they'll ask an opinion of one of us or all of us in general, but other than that and when dignitaries come to visit, we just sit there. I wish I could still be working on the roads so I could feel like I was doing something useful instead of just sitting there. Ling tires to humor me, but there's only so much he can do without being inappropriate. Last week he had Lan Fan blow up an empty servants quarters and sent me to go and fix it. Only problem was, then the Elders wouldn't let him leave the throne room for the next three days for fear of assassination by arson. Opps.**

**But that's basically it. I wish something would come along and make things more exciting. Not that I want another problem like the homunculi to come along. That would be bad. But I do wish something to happen.**

**Bored to tears,**

**Mei**

* * *

><p><em>Dear Mei,<em>

_I wish I had gotten like that in no time. It was grueling nine months, except for the first two or three ones when I was sleeping half of the day. Well, now I'm actually walking without it at all. Aren't you proud of me?_

_Well I'm sorry that you're bored all the time. I on the other hand have so much to do now I hardly find time to sleep, a side effect I greatest detest. Now that I'm walking on my own the doctors are trying to hook me up to as many machines as they can to test my walking abilities, my running abilities, jogging, skipping, how much weight I can lift, how much I sleep when tired, how much I sleep when I've slept the night before, my brain activity while I sleep, my metabolism rate, my immunization reactions, pretty much everything you can think of them to test me on they're testing me on._

_Brother tries to get them to back off, but I'm probably (certainly) the only case they've ever had like this and they want to track every second of what I do and how I act._

_Maybe you can come over here and get tested for me and I'll go to Xing and sit around bored. That sound good to you?_

_Busy to tears,_

_Al_

* * *

><p><strong>Dear Alphonse,<strong>

**I do wish I could sympathize with you. By now you're probably done with all the tests, but I wish I could still come over and take them for you just to have something to do. I'm still bored to death. The project with the roads is now completed and trade between the providences has improved a lot and now Ling has sent everyone who was working on that to work on the railroad. The estimates for completion time has been bumped up a lot thanks to that. He said that if they can also get some alchemists working on it from your end and some alkahestists from ours, it might be done by the end of this month! Won't that be amazing?**

**These project have really been a godsend for the poorer citizens because now they all have skills they didn't have before the projects as well as the money they earned from working on the roads and now the railroads. It really is amazing.**

**You have to come and visit once the trains have been completed. I haven't seen you in too long. Plus, we still have the same amazing cuisine!**

**Wanting to see you again,**

**Mei**

* * *

><p><strong>Dear Alphonse,<strong>

**You didn't reply to my last letter, is everything alright? I hope you're okay. The railroads have been completed, so this letter should get to you fairly soon. Maybe you did send a letter and I just didn't get it because they sent it the long way, but usually it would have gotten here by now. Sorry for worrying if there is nothing wrong and you just haven't had time to reply—**

That particular letter lay on the Imperial Princess's writing desk for a long time. In fact, it lay there until the Princess was married and was going through her old possessions before moving away from the Palace.

It didn't need to be sent; the man she had been writing to with love had already appeared.


	7. Welcome to Xing, Ambassador

**Realized, "Oh yeah. Haven't written about Al's actual arrival in Xing yet. Should probably do that, huh?" So I'm writing it. Just like the other one it didn't turn out like I was planning, but I like this was better. It was weird before. If there is anything at all you think needs work or anything doens't seem to fit, please tell me.**

**This is Al arriving in Xing, so I guess you could say it takes place there... Al's 16 and Mei's 14**

**Don't own FMA. Or AlMei. Or the chimeras. Sadly.**

* * *

><p>Endless fields of sand swept by the window. Al watched as they ran away behind him with his forhead pressed against the window pane. Sand: always different, always the same. Occasionally a desert shrub would pop up. It was the tenth day of their journey and if his count was still accurate (he had fallen asleep a number of times during the trip), they had just gone by the 758th cacti. Fun.<p>

On the seat across from him, Jerso and Zampano were playing a game of cards Al couldn't bring himself to play with them. For one, he and Ed had always played cards when they traveled and the thought of playing cards with anyone other than him was too strange for him to contemplate. Also, the two were playing for first chance to get changed back when a cure was found for their chimeraism. Al thought that was a battle he should most likely stay out of.

He just really wished the ride would be over.

Not only because this was the first really long train ride he had committed to since getting his body back that he wasn't sleeping through, but also because of what would be at the end: Xing, the exotic country that lay to the east of his childhood home. Full of customs and traditions and most importantly knowledge, he couldn't wait to arrive there. Also, the image of a small Xingese girl with braids as she was dragged away by Ling was not one he had forgotten the two years he had spent home recovering.

At the end of a hasty letter sent to the Emperor before his departure to foretell his coming, he had scribbled an inquiry about the Princess and her current location; however, the letter had not been replied. He just hoped the letter had arrived and his arrival would not be a complete surprise. Though the trains connecting the two countries were working perfectly, phone lines and telegrams where unreliable because of the sand that was everywhere.

_Cacti 759._

It was going to be a long four days.

* * *

><p>Mei finished off the guard in front of her with a powerful kick to the chest. The man went flying a few feet back and landed in the dust of the training field. Unlike the past few times, he did not get back up.<p>

"I win," she declared loudly. The man groaned and sat up.

"Congratulations, Princess. Though perhaps, next time you might be the slightest bit kinder to my ribs. I do have another shift in a few moments." Mei smiled sheepishly. Sometimes she forgot that not everyone was as impervious to her attacks as others.

"Forgive me," she said quietly, not bowing as she would to someone of higher status, but respectfully. "You do an important job, protecting this palace. I should not have compromised your effectiveness."

"It is not your place to beg forgiveness from one as low as I, Princess, but it is given none the less." After assisting the man to his feet, Mei walked away from the grounds, intending to take a quick bath. Halfway to her rooms though, she was stopped by a small messenger boy.

"Princess Chang!" the boy called. "His Highness Emperor Ling Yao requests your presence in the throne room!" Mei looked at the boy in exasperation.

"Can't I at least wash up first? I hate being before the entire court after sparring." The boy grimaced.

"His Highness said that if you said anything along those lines to say that he wants you there now and if you don't show up he will send his guards to collect you." Mei groaned and rolled her eyes. By 'his guards' he meant Lan Fan. Who would have no hesitation in dragging her to the throne room, no matter where she was when she was found.

"I'll follow you there," she sighed. The boy looked relived and set off towards the room, Mei following close behind. While she walked, she tried to arrange her hair in a more suitable manner, but there was no helping the sweaty strands. In the end, she just ended up twisting all her hair up into a large bun that took up most of the space on her head.

The guards at the door recognized her face, having faced her on the sparing field at one point or another, and let her in immediately. Before her spanned the great throne room. At the end of the room sat Ling on his throne, dressed in the ridiculous robes she made fun of all the time. To the sides were the stands for the various courtiers, namely all her brothers, sisters, uncles, and aunts, and few of Xing's richer citizens. All clan leaders were welcome in court, but none of them seemed to be present. The ten Elders sat close to Ling. Lan Fan was tucked away behind Ling's throne.

"Mei Chang, you may approach," Ling said loudly. She raised an eyebrow and moved forward. "I require your assistance."

"With what?" she asked bluntly. A couple people raised their eyebrow and a few more gasped, but most of the people present were used to her less than honoring manor.

"There an ambassador on the train to Xing right now. He's going to arrive late today. I want you to be the one to show him around." Ling replied, also not in the mood to beat around the bush.

"What? Why?" Mei cried. She hated showing the ambassadors around; they would always act horribly towards her because unlike her dear brother, she was not the Emperor. One of the men from Drachma has actually thought she was a servant the one time Ling had mad her show one of them around. After that experience, she had requested, or rather made sure, that she would never have to do it again.

"Because I'm the Emperor and I say you have to."

"You promised me that I'd never have to do it again!" she protested.

"Well now I'm telling you to show this one around. He's the first official Amestrian Ambassador in over 80 years and you and I are the only members of the royal family who have actually visited more of Amestris than just Central and Ishval. Since I am the Emperor, I very well can't be a tour guide, which means the task falls to you. Have fun. And take a bath. You stink."

"I wouldn't if you had given me the time to stop by my quarters before coming here," Mei grumbled under her breath. He was right and she knew it. If it was an ambassador from Amestris she was the one best suited to be his escort around the palace; that didn't mean she had to like it. He did have his head on sometimes. Only sometimes though.

As she was walking out of the room she turned around as a thought struck her.

"This is actually about the 'Children in the Soup' incident with Dao, isn't it?"

"It was stew and I'm not afraid to admit that yes, it is." Mei rolled her eyes, but there was a small smile on her face as she walked out of the door.

* * *

><p>Of the two train stations in the capital, only one hosted trains from the west so that was where Mei headed to greet the Ambassador. As it had been since the railroads had been re-opened between Xing and Amestris, the station was busy and Mei had a hard time weaving through the crowds. She heard someone announce that the train he was supposed to be on had arrived and she struggled harder to get to the front.<p>

That proved easier said than done, as it took her a full three minutes to struggled up to the front where the train was finding their things and leaving. None of the people there exactly looked like ambassadors, or like it was their first time in Xing. She probably would have wondered around trying to find him for hours if she hadn't heard an unmistakably Amestrian voice speaking in the most broken Xingese imaginable.

"No, not food. Palace. Palace!" he yelled, probably at a man who couldn't understand him through his accent. The voice sounded familiar, but she couldn't quite place it without a face.

"Listen man, we have to get to the palace, right now. That Xingese kid is waiting for us!" a voice called out in Amestrian. That one was definitely familiar. Wiggling her way through two particularly large men, she caught sight of a blond boy flanked by a large dark skinned man and a tall muscular man.

When the blond boy turned around briefly to roll his eyes at the two men Mei gasped. She knew those eyes, even though she had only seen them once.

_Ling, I'm going to kill you for not telling me._ She prepared herself to launch herself at him, but then held herself back. For once, the words of her mother actually rose to her mind before she acted, "You are an Imperial Princess of Xing! Act like it for once, you're always jumping around."

"I wouldn't call His Majesty 'Xingese kid' if I were you. It could be considered treasonous and by Imperial Law, traitors are to be hanged," she said out loud to the group. They turned around, trying to find the source of their native language. Mei's breath caught.

When she had last seen him, Al had been a stick with long hair and sunken eyes. Now his shoulders had filled out, his hair had been cut close to his head, and his eyes shone out of a full and happy face. Before he had been a slight disappointment, she had been imagining a prince to rival the one she had created from Edward. Now however, he was everything she had imagined plus more.

"You must be from the palace!" Zampano, as she now recognized him as, said. "Thank goodness, I'm starving."

"You're always starving," Al said, smirking at the chimera. He then stood forward. "Hello, my name is Alphonse Elric. I'm the Ambassador that staying with His Highness." Did he not recognize her? Had she really changed that much?

"I know," she said complacently. He smiled at her and Mei couldn't help but smile back. Her smile must have given something away because Al started staring harder at her face.

"Mei? Is that you?" Her smile widened and she tackled him. Impressively, he managed to stay upright, even swinging her around a few times as he hugged her. As he held her, she couldn't help but notice how his arms were not only no longer pathetic sticks, but were muscular and strong. When he set her down he took a long look at her.

"Hey! What about us? Don't we get a hug from the small princess?" Mei rolled her eyes and hugged both of the chimeras.

"Mei, you look so different, I almost didn't recognize you!" She blushed and looked down at her feet.

"Thank you, Alphonse." Al laughed.

"You're still going to call me that? Please call me Al." Mei smiled but chose not to comment on his request.

"You look a lot different too," she said. "A lot stronger than last time I saw you."

"I sure hope I look different than the last time you saw me. I couldn't even walk by myself last time you saw me. It's been two years of nothing but working out and eating as much food as I can get my teeth around."

"And the kid complains about us eating too much," Zampano complained. Al shot a long-suffering look at Mei and she giggled.

"Man, we've been here less than half an hour and he already has her wrapped around his finger. Isn't it usually the girl who does that to the boy?" Both Al and Mei blushed.

"Come on, Ling has some cars for us to ride in to the palace. He'll want to see you all immediately, then probably kick the whole court out and invite you to dinner." They all smiled and fought the rest of their way through the crowd.

It was an interesting car ride, the four of them squished into the back seat and the driver moving slowly through the streets. They were all talking, and laughing, Al and Mei most of all. When they finally arrived at the palace and the two chimeras got out of the car, Al pulled Mei back by the wrist.

"Mei, I'm really happy to be here." She smiled back at him and then reached out and pecked him on the cheek.

"I'm happy you're here too. Now hurry up, the sooner Ling gets to see you the soon we both get to make fun of him eating!"


	8. Gong Xi Fa Chai

**Happy Chinese New Years Eve! Whooo! Even though in a couple of hours it's just going to be New Years so... But yeah. Wanna know something I find funny and ironic? I had Mexican for dinner... fail. Anywho it's the Chinese New Year and everyone know you can't let that pass without doing something about our little Xingese friends. **

**Note: I am white. Let's get over that fact and move on. Pretty much every shred of research in here was done over the internet. I tried to string it together in a way that seemed natural but I'm not sure it worked out right. If it seems weird at all please tell me. Also if you actually do celebrate this holiday and I totally disrespected everything/anything about it please tell and correct me. **

**This takes place in 1918, the year of the Earth Horse. Al is 17 and Mei is 14.**

**I do not own FMA. Do I really have to keep repeating this?**

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><p>"Gong xi fa chai, Alphonse." Al looked up from the thick text he was perusing to see Mei smiling at him. In her hands she held a large tangerine with its leaves still on. "I made sure to grab the largest tangerine for you."<p>

"Oh, thank you. What's the occasion?" Al asked, slightly confused both by the nature of her greeting and the language it was in. They had agreed that talking in Amestrian would be saved for moments when they didn't want anyone else listening in so that he wouldn't have a safety net anymore. He could understand almost everything going around him and most of the time he could stumble through the appropriate response.

"It's New Years. Tangerines and oranges are traditional foods; they symbolize good luck and wealth," she explained.

"Oh really? You celebrate New Year's this late?"

"We celebrate New Year's on a lunar calendar. The first new moon after the winter solstice is the first day of the New Year." Mei smiled and held out the tangerine again. Al took it and smiled back at her.

"Then gong xi fa chai to you too, Princess Chang." Mei wrinkled her nose.

"You still need to work on your accent. It's awful."

"Thanks." Mei rolled her eyes and Al grinned at her in a manner that was slightly reminiscent of Ed. Moving from where she had been leaning to sitting down in a chair next to Al, Mei pulled out another tangerine from her sash. They started pealing the fruit together and took turns popping slices into their mouths.

"So what's with the yellow?" Al asked, gesturing with a sticky hand to the outfit Mei was wearing. She was wearing her normal style, but not her normal colors. Mei tended to stick to richer colors, such as blues reds and greens, but today she was wearing a clever combination of yellow and brown.

"It's the year of the Earth Horse," Mei replied, not even looking down, "You're supposed to wear yellow and earthy colors. Today the color scheme is yellow and brown. Tomorrow it's yellow and green." Al looked down at his own brown vest and red tie.

"Should I change?"

"Nah, you've got red. You can wear red any day and get away with it. Just make sure to tell everyone that you're doing that out of knowledge and not just ignorance. We don't want people to think you're neglecting your duty as a respected Ambassador from Amestris, and not learning anything here, do we?" Al snorted.

"Oh no, of course not. I always do my job perfectly and without a single flaw." The couple both started to giggle, covering their mouths with a hand to muffle the noise.

"Anyways, I was actually coming to see you to tell you that your presence has been requested at the 'kick off' feast that Ling's throwing," Mei said once the laughing subsided. "It's supposed to be amazing, and considering it's Ling, the food's sure to be."

"Okay, I'll be there. I'll be better dressed, too! That's a promise." Mei smiled.

"Good. Now, if you'll excuse me, I don't know where Xiao Mei is and honestly: that scares me. I need to go find her."

* * *

><p>The feast was just as, if not more delicious then Al or Mei had anticipated, as were all the ones held afterwards. New Years was one of the largest celebrations of the year and it caused quite the affair at the palace. No expense was spared and one could hardly walk a foot without finding a paper lantern or cutout, usually of the color red or yellow.<p>

Al was very careful to manage his wardrobe for the next fifteen days, trying very hard not to reuse ties at all. During the celebrations he received two sets of traditional Xingese robes from Ling and Mei which, after he figured out how to wear them, actually managed to look nice with his golden hair and eyes.

One of the days he and Mei attempted to make traditional jiaozi, or dumplings. Many of the cooks were loath to let them have reign in the kitchen, but after promising to replace or fix any damage done by the end of the day, they were eventually allowed as long as they remembered to make a generous offering to the Kitchen god.

About an hour later the two proudly scooped the first batch of dumplings out of the boiling water and bit into one each. To be honest, they weren't too bad. Nothing near the quality of the dumplings turned out by the professionals in the kitchen, but neither of them dropped dead or threw up. They called it a success until they saw the state of the surrounding kitchen.

The last day of the fifteen day-long celebration was concluded with the Yuanxiao, or Festival of Lanterns. The entire day was spent in preparation for the festival, meaning Al and Mei spent only a moment together in which she shoved a scrap of paper in his hand giving him directions and a time to arrive.

Many hours later Al found himself wondering around what could be considered 'downtown' and trying to fight through a large crowd of people watching the Dragon Dance, which involved various men dressed in a traditional dragon costume mapping out a peculiar dance which Al quite honestly couldn't understand. Luckily, the small sheet of paper clutched in his hands led him away from the crowd and into a cut off area. Mei was there, dressed in a red and gold dress. Behind her stood a handful of other couples that didn't seem to be paying attention to them or anything else, to be honest.

"I'm glad you made it. I was starting to think you got lost," Mei said, swinging her legs on a stone bench. Al walked over and sat beside her.

"Why did you want me to come here?" Mei pointed to the patch of clear sky between the branches of surrounding trees.

"This is one of the best views of the firecrackers. I thought I was the only one who knew about it but," this time she gestured to the other people in the area, "guess not."

"It's okay, I don't mind." A burst of color lit the patch of air above their heads and a loud crack sounded through the air.

"What's the purpose of the firecrackers?" Al asked.

"It's to scare away the evil spirits that wish you bad luck. They're scared by the noises."

"Well I can see why," Al said, smiling. "Imagine if you didn't know what was going on and then suddenly Boom!" Al shouted grabbing Mei by the shoulders and shaking her.

"Stop that! You scared me!" He just smiled and she stuck her tongue out at him. The first explosion was followed by others and soon the air was rent with the noises. Both were watching the explosions with fascination, hardly taking their eyes off the spectacle. When they had died out Al groaned and stood up.

"Too bad, they were really pretty." Instead of standing up with him, Mei pulled Al down by the arm.

"No, the best part is yet to come. Now it's the palace's turn to make sure the spirits stay away for the rest of the year. They always do a huge fireworks show." Al followed her advice and sat down.

"You know what Ed and I always did at the New Years? We made resolutions. Get through rehabilitation alive and quickly, find a way to get our bodies back, get the Philosopher's Stone, beat the Homunculi, get my body back to normal. Easy simple stuff like that. I think this is the first year I haven't had a world changing goal in my resolutions."

"What type of goals do you have this year?"

"I really want to be able to get the remote transmutation right. I know you keep telling me to get qi first, but I just can't seem to get it." Mei pursed her lips.

"I keep telling you, you have to-"

"Yeah, I know," Al said, glumly. Noticing that she had upset him, Mei tried to get his mind of the topic. She could grill him about it later.

"Don't you have any lighter goals? Don't you want to be able to beat Ling in an eating contest?" Al stared at her in shock.

"Mei! Don't say such things! Do you wish a painful death of intestinal explosions upon me? You're a good alkahestrist, the best I know, but I don't think even you would be able to save me after that!"

"No, I think you would be on your own after that too."

"Not to mention pretty dead. How anti-climactic after everything that's happened."

"I'm pretty sure Ling would give you a good mention as the man who thought he could triumph over his stomach!" Al both grimaced and laughed.

"That's definitely how I want my name to be remembered." A companionable silence fell between them as they looked up at the stars, waiting for the fireworks to start. Moments later when the skies were still silent, Mei spoke up.

"I think I'm going to make a resolution too. I want to be able to be the best teacher you have ever had."

"I wish you good luck. I've had some pretty amazing teachers."

"None as amazing as me though." Al laughed outright.

"Well I have to admit that you are the prettiest teacher I've ever had." Mei blushed a bright red color that matched her dress.

"Thank you Alphonse." Al made a move to say something charming, probably along the lines of "No need to thank me for the truth," but a loud split between a crack and a bang split the air and a burst of colors lit up the sky. The two did not talk much for the rest of the evening but they both knew without a doubt in either of their minds that is was going to be a very good year indeed.


	9. Dancing In the Rain

**Sorry about the shortness of this one guys; I went to my grandma's today and didn't have a lot of time to work on this. It's a cute on though; I promise. The information about the rain was found online and trust me it was hard to figure out which parts of actual China I want parts of Xing to correlate with. It sounds legit though; or at least I hope it does. As always, please tell.**

The steady beat drummed on the roof and the windows of the small room. As the tempo increased the blond boy inside said room looked up at the clear pane of glass and smiled longingly. He was currently stuck inside, wishing for nothing more than to be able to go out there. The ancient scroll in his lap seemed to unroll without end and the symbols were swimming around in his head. Even though he was still mastering the written language which consisted of symbol rather than letters, Mei was adament that he needed to start reading as soon as possible, even if he only understood half of it.

"Beside, Alphonse," she told him as she added another book onto the pile in his arms, "How are you supposed to learn to read if you aren't reading?"

With a heavy sigh, he dropped his eyes back to the scroll. A few minutes later his teacher (and the cause of his current misery) walked into the room carrying a small pot of tea and two bowls of steaming rice. In the month or so Al had been in Xing, he had only recently begun to master the technique of eating with the chopsticks used over forks in this country. His progression towards using the thin sticks of woods like any other person in Xing amused Mei to no end.

"Thank you," he told her politely in Xingese before stating matter-of-factly his native language: "It's raining outside." Mei looked up at the window, grabbed her own bowl of rice, and prepared to eat before replying.

"So it is. I supposed I should have anticipated it. It is about time after all."

"About time?"

"For the rainy season. I've been waiting for the monsoon season. They get is at a different time then we usually do in Xianxun(1). I'm still used to it staring around April. Here it starts around June. I think this is actually fairly late."

"So this is normal?" Mei nodded before pouring herself a small cup of tea.

"It happens every year, almost across the entire country. The north Providences don't get his nearly as bad, probably only a slight increase of rainfall. To be honest, the Eastern countries get hit much worse than we do, especially as far north as the capital. It's the Southern Providences that get the worst of it because they're so close to the Gunxio Sea (2). The Chang providence avoids the worst of it, but damage done to crops not harvested early enough is still enough to damage the frail economy."

"It really gets that bad?" Al asked; his eyes wide with amazement. The going-ons in Xing never failed to amaze him, especially with all they had to overcome and work around. There always seemed to be one more problem that he thought would have brought Amestris to its knees that the Xingese gave no more thought to then making sure to slip on a jacket when going outside.

"Uh huh. Have you finished the scroll yet?" Al gave the window another longing look before shaking his head and resigning himself to the scroll once more. They sat like that for about an hour more, listening to the rain, occasionally taking sips of tea or eating from their rice bowls. Once her supply of food was gone, Mei picked up a small book he had seen her carrying around for the past few days and began to read.

When Al finally finished the long scroll, he stretched and turned to tell Mei only to find her fast asleep in the chair, the book on her lap. He smiled at her sleeping form. She seemed so innocent when she was sleeping. Not to say that she wasn't; in fact sometimes he marveled at her innocence. It was, however, hard to believe in that innocence when she was throwing knives, making you run laps to improve still shaky stamina, and carrying around four feet high stacks of books for you to read by the weekend. Al decided he liked it better when she slept.

Especially, he looked around furtively, when that meant she wouldn't be able to stop him.

He pushed the scroll off his lap and stood up as quietly as he could. Tip-toeing to the door, Al looked back to make sure the small girl still was asleep then closing the door and sprinting to the front doors. Like getting used to eating with chopsticks, it had likewise taken Al a long time to figure out how to make his way around the palace. To be honest he still got lost a lot, but he could manage to find the front door from most of the places he frequented.

The guards at the door nodded to him and opened the door when he approached. He smiled back then scurried out into the open.

He could feel the rain as it pounded down on his skin. Quickly shedding his coat, Al rolled up his sleeves so that the water could touch his skin directly. Every drop sent a shiver across his skin. In next to no time he had a huge smile on his face and was turning around with his arms outstretched, mouth open to catch the rain on his tongue.

"Alphonse, what are you doing out here?" a voice called. He turned and saw Mei standing under the slight cover provided by the overhang over the large doorways.

"Mei?"

"Yes, Mei Chang. What are you doing dancing around in the courtyard of the Imperial Palace in the rain?"

"Uh, dancing around in the courtyard of the Imperial Palace in the rain?" His hair was soaked and plastered to his face and his previously white shirt was soaked through and clinging to his skin, a fact which Mei was not unaware of, though she made no sign of it.

"You idiot, you're going to catch a cold, get back here." Al smiled mischievously.

"No I think I like it out here."

"Alphonse!"

"Mei." He smiled and she glared. Then, shaking his head and hands held high in surrender, he started to walk toward her. She beamed and stepped aside so that he could enter the palace. What she was not expecting however, was for him to pick her up by the waist, sling her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and run back out into the rain. He held her until she was completely soaked.

"Al, put me down!" she screeched, pounding on his shoulder. Instead, he laughed and spun her around a few time.

"Don't like getting wet, Princess?"

"AL!" Still laughing, he lowered her to the ground where she stood glaring at him. Al smiled and held out a hand.

"May I have this dance?" Mei stared at the hand, then at Al's face. Her thoughts were clearly traveling down the lines of "You're crazy" because he pushed his sopping hair out of his face and stared at her with the most heart-wrenching puppy-dog stare she had ever seen. Including on puppies. "Come on Mei. We've been studying since I got here. One dance?"

She sighed and he, smiling, grabbed her waist. Royal instincts kicking in, her hand was on his shoulder and as he stepped forward she did likewise. He took a step backward and then spun her around. Then they both took two long strides towards the open ground before twirling again.

When the next shift of guards came along half an hour later, the two were still giggling and running around in the similitude of dancing. Every once in a while Al would grab Mei by the waist and lift her up in the air before setting her down and taking another step. The new guards nudged each other and laughed at their apparent obliviousness to the change.

When he finally sneezed loudly, Al stopped what he was doing, which was twirling Mei in so many circles that it would have had any girl that did not possess extreme balance falling all over herself. She twirled around a few more times by herself before stopping and staring up at him.

"What is it?" she asked, breathless. He chuckled a bit.

"I think I've caught a cold."

"Ha! Serves you right for getting us into this mess!" Al stuck his tongue out at the Princess and she stuck hers out back. Then, breathless, cold, wet, and giddy with happiness, they stumbled under cover and into the palace. They only laughed harder when Al continued to sneeze.

**(1) Chang Providence Capital; literally translated as 'humble'**

**(2) Xing is to China as the Gunxio Sea is to the Indian Ocean**


	10. Fun in the Library

**Chapter ten! Yay! This is special! It actually eneded up a lot different then I was intending. A lot different. Anways, I would like to thank Valarie Muoto for reviewing five times. Thanks!**

**There is a bit about alkahestry in this one. I tried to make it sound plausible. There really isn't enough information on it out there so I don't know how well I did on it. Please tell me! **

**Oh, and this was only edited quickly. I'll go back and do a better job in a few days, promise.**

**Al is 16 and Mei is 14. This is shortly after 'When Laughing Gets Carried Too Far'**

* * *

><p>"We are all connected to the Dragon's Pulse," Al muttered under his breath as the pencil in his hand hit the desk in a rhythmical pattern. "To read the flow one must understand the connection between life of every creature, every being, every mass." He looked up at Mei who was standing near another shelf, trying to find a certain book.<p>

"So it's talking about 'One is all, all is one,' right?"

"I guess you could phrase it like that," Mei answered without turned around. "Here," she said tossing a thick tome to him. He caught it and put it on the ever growing pile near him.

"The more I learn about alkahestry, the more I understand how it really is at its basics a lot like alchemy," Al commented.

"Well you've also only learned the basics. You are learning what the Western Sage taught the original alkahestrists, and since he taught the same principles to the original alchemists it is extremely similar. That's why you're understanding all this so well. You've already learned it."

"So why am I learning it again?" he asked.

"Because they are extremely similar, but this incorporates the principle of the Dragon's Pulse. Medical applications aside, that's what really makes alchemy and alkahestry different. When alkahestrist learned about alchemy from the Western Sage, no one understood about the movement of the crust. They still thought the world was flat. They couldn't understand the energy source so they adapted it to one the Emperor and his servants had been using for ages. Medical uses came after when the ability to sense _qi _adapted into feeling the flow of it within the body. Does that make sense?" Al nodded.

"I think so. So shouldn't I be learning more about the Dragon's Pulse if that's what makes it different?" Mei sighed heavily and leaned against the bookshelf she was looking through.

"The problem is I don't know how to teach you about the Dragon's Pulse. I was taught to feel it at such a young age it's always been a part of me. You don't think about how to teach someone how to move their finger, would you? It's just always been something I've been able to sense. Why do you think we were both so frustrated in the Ishvalan slum? I was trying to explain to you something that comes naturally to me, and you weren't understanding."

"And here I was thinking you were making fun of me," Al laughed. Mei smiled at him.

"No, I wasn't."

"That's a comfort to my ego."

"Well I'm glad I could comfort your ego," Mei replied drying. "However you need to keep reading. If I can't teach you then at least these men can." Then Mei stopped and reconsidered what she had said. "At least these men and women can." Al smirked at her and she smiled before returning to the shelves.

Almost two hours later, Al lifted his eye from the scroll he had been busy looking over and stretched his arms high over his head. After rubbing his eyes and letting loose a huge yawn, he glanced around for some sign of a timepiece. They had been in the library for almost six hours now.

"Mei?" he called out in a loud whisper. There was no reply. He tried again but there was no response. With a heavy sigh, he stood up and peeked around a few of the near shelves; the princess was not in sight so he was forced to look deeper in the labyrinth. When he finally did find her she was sitting cross-legged on the flood with a thick book in her lap.

"Mei?" She looked up, alarmed, until she saw his face when she promptly blushed.

"Oh, Alphonse. What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be reading?"

"Aren't you supposed to be finding more books for me to read?" he questioned in reply.

"Yes, well, this is a, well, I was checking it. Don't want you waiting your time reading unnecessary material. It's, uh," she stuttered putting the book quickly back where it belonged, "no good. Absolute trash." Al raised an eyebrow at her extremely fake smile. "We've been here for a long time, want to get some food?"

"Mei, what was that book?"

"… A book. I would think you of all people would be able to recognize one of those, Alphonse."

"Just a book my foot." He moved forward to grab it but Mei moved in front of it. "Mei, please step aside."

"No thank you."

"Please?"

"No. I like it here."

" I thought you wanted some food."

"I do."

"So why don't you go and get us some?"

"You first."

The two stood there staring at each other for a few seconds, Mie growing redder by the second and Al's smile widening.

"But Mei, I'm a gentleman. Ladies first."

"But Alphonse, I'm a princess. I say you first." His grin grew even wider.

"Well, Princess, I guess we are at an impasse."

"Well, gentleman, I guess we are." A few more seconds passed without words.

"Mei," Al started.

"Yes, Alphonse?"

"You do realize I know where you're ticklish, right?" Her eyes widened.

"You wouldn't."

"I would."

"You're bluffing. Alphonse Elric would never do something like that in a library."

"You know the advantage of being in the very very back of the library away from every other living person at this time of day, Mei? No one can hear your plea for help."

Only partly true, however. As Al made good on his promise and reduced Mei to a shrieking mass of black braids and purple fabric, one of her shrieked cries for help did make it pass the shelves of books. When Al reached out to grab the book Mei had been so fiercely protecting, a figure came running and knocked him to the ground. The book flew out of his hand and as he hit the ground a loud "Oof" escaped his lips.

"Princess Mei, all you alright?" a worried voice said rapidly. Al blinked a few times to clear his vision. There was something heavy and sharp on top of his chest.

"I'm fine, _gege_," Mei's voice said. "Thank you for saving me," The slim hand he recognized as Mei's reached down and picked up the book that landed near his head.

"It is my duty, Princess," the voice replied. With a few more shakes of his head, Al was able to recognize the object pressing into his chest the knee of a largely built man who was facing Mei. "What do you wish me to do with him?"

"You can let him up," she answered.

"So that you can punish him yourself, Princess?" Al could see Mei smile as she gripped the book he had tried to get from her in her arms.

"No. He's already failed so I feel no guilt in letting him go."

"But Princess, he might attack you again if he is released!" Mei laughed at the man.

"I think you're mistaken _gege_. Alphonse isn't going to hurt me. He was trying to get this book."

"But, Princess, you were screaming for help. I assumed that you were—"

"Alphonse, the acclaimed gentleman, was tickling me. You know I'm ticklish." A soft "Oh" was followed by the release of pressure on Al's choice. He lifted himself into a sitting position before a dark hand was thrust in front of his hand. Al followed the hand up a clothed arm to a dark face where red eyes were staring at him.

"You're Ishvalan?" The red eyes stared down at him, obviously not happy at being asked to let him go. Al took the hand and the man helped pull him to his feet.

"Yes I am." Mei stepped out from behind the man.

"Alphonse, this is Japhious. He was probably the man most friendly with me after my arrival to the palace beside Ling and Lan Fan. I was in the library looking for something to do and he approached me. We started talking and became friends." Al stared at the man who still hadn't taken his eyes off Al's face.

"Really?"

"Yup. He's almost like an older brother who isn't Ling and doesn't want to kill me."

"I see," Al turned to the man. "Did you come here during the Civil War?"

"Yes. The citizens of Xing were welcoming to those of us who would have been killed in your country. I have lived among the people here for a number of years," Japhious answered.

"The Ishvalan War of Extermination," Al muttered. "One of the darkest marks in Amestris's already dark history. You do know they're working to rebuild Ishval, right?" The man nodded slowly.

"I had heard, Alphonse Elric. The Flame Alchemist and the Hawks Eye seek to atone for their sins, correct?"

"Yeah." Mei stood awkwardly between the two, looking from one to the other. Neither of them said anything for a while and she was forced to break the silence.

"Al, I think we've been here long enough. Let's get some food." She turned around and made to walk down the aisle until Japhious crossed his arms and tutted loudly.

"Princess, you are still holding the book." Pretending not to hear him, she continued and was soon lost in the labyrinth.

"Listen, if you have anything against me because I'm Amestrian, just tell me. I understand. Amestris did horrible things in Ishval." Japhious stared at Al unblinkingly.

"Alphonse Elric. You have encountered much in your years, have you not?"

"I have," Al replied nodding. The red eyes softened slightly.

"We all go through our trials in life. My people have gone through theirs. It is time for healing and for strength. I cannot condemn you for something you had nothing to do with." Al's shoulders dropped in relief until the ultimate, "However…"

"What?"

"There is a reason the Princess calls me _gege_. I know you and the Emperor are friends. Therefor it falls to me to make sure that if you ever harm the Princess's heart or body, you will regret it. It would look bad for the Emperor to harm an important dignitary. An angry Ishvalan who still seeks revenge for his people is much more acceptable." Al was horribly reminded of the image of a large hand descending towards Ed's face and shuddered.

"I promise. I would never hurt Mei on purpose. I would rather hurt myself first." Once again red eyes bore into gold.

"You are an honest person. I will watch you nonetheless."

The that threat hanging in the air, Japhious turned around and disappeared in the maze of printed word.

* * *

><p><strong>Gege means 'older brother'<strong>


	11. Setting Up LingFan

**This is one is very slated more towards my sister's preferences than mine, but it still has lotsa AlMei. It just has a very heavy dose of LingFan. Personally, I don't have any trouble imagining Al and Mei trying to set the two up. Lan Fan's just so stubborn! She would need some prompting. This one kinda took a different direction that what I was originally planning, but I still like the way it turned out. Guys, I really don't want to go back to school. High School sucks, I don't want to go back! I liked break! *heavy sigh***

* * *

><p>Ling knew that it had finally happened. There was no doubt in his mind. Hell had frozen over, pigs had begun to fly, and somewhere Edward Elric had willingly drunken milk. Either that or someone was spiking his food. There was no way his half-sister, Mei Chang, was actually coming to him for advice. Nope. No way.<p>

"Ling?" she asked again impatiently. The Emperor blinked a few times at his sixteen year old sister, then started rubbing his eyes.

"I'm sorry, I think my eyes are deceiving me. Who are you?" Mei was apparently not amused by his antics.

"Mei Chang. 17th and most favored sister of the current Emperor of Xing."

"I beg to differ. Mei would never speak those words to me."

"What? I need help?"

"Yes! Those vile words!" Ling yelped, covering his ears. "Go away, you imposter!"

"Ling!" Mei cried, exasperated. "I'm being serious! I need help from a guy. There's not really any other guy I trust in the palace, or trust me I would have gone to them." This struck Ling as odd. There most certainly was another male in the palace she trusted, why would she come to him?

"What about Al? Are you two fighting again?" A light pink colored crept onto Mei's face.

"I think you would know if we were fighting." Ling had to agree with that. "But I do want advice, well, about Al." Ling's eyebrows rose.

"About Al, how?" The pink coloring darkened. It was probably the most flustered he had ever seen his little sister. Even when he had caught them in Al's quarters alone, laughing as if possessed, she had still managed to have a steel edge to her words. Now, she was being completely open. Later, he would curse, and thank, himself for not taking that into greater notice.

"I want him… I want him to kiss me."

"Oh."

Well that explained everything.

"Yeah…"

"Why did you come to me?" Finally, there was that angry edge.

"I don't want to kiss him! I want him to kiss me, but I don't know how to do that. He's going to be leaving for the East soon, and I want to at least be able to have this between us when he's gone."

"… I still don't know why you're asking me." Mei rolled her eyes.

"You are of the male sex. Al is of the male sex. What would make you want to kiss a girl the most? I was planning on taking your advice and translating that into something Al would actually react to." The empty room Mei has dragged him into seemed to echo as Ling considered the query.

"Well, you definitely want to be alone. Having other people around would make things awkward and uncomfortable. You also don't want to be isolated. That would also make things uncomfortable. I would also suggest a setting that's romantic enough to get something going, but not smothering, perhaps something out under the stars. Or, since Al loves to spend time in the garden because of the smell, I could forbid anyone from going in the area," Ling finished off with a flourish of his hands and crossing his arms. Mei stared at her older brother.

"What?" he asked in return.

"How do you know all this?" Ling opened his mouth to reply then closed it. That was not something he was willing to reveal.

"Um, remember I met with General Mustang instead of Fuhrer Grumman for the trading agreements last year? He tends to be a bit open when intoxicated…"

"You got him drunk?" Mei asked, incredulous.

"No! When we were done and the papers had been signed he said we should celebrate… a local bar might have been involved…" Thank goodness Mustang actually was the type of guy who would do that. The man hadn't actually had anything to do with his somewhat frightening knowledge of romantic scenes. It just wouldn't be a good idea for anyone to get wing that the Emperor of Xing, Son of the Morning Star, tended to fill his free hours imagining the exact situation that would get a certain black-haired beauty to kiss him—or rather, him to kiss her and her not try to chop off his head.

"Oh," she said finally. "I'm going to ignore everything you said in the past minute." He nodded.

"Thank you. So was that enough help?" Mei nodded, smiling.

"Definitely. Thank you!" Then the Chang heir turned around and walked out of the room and through the Imperial Throne Room, most likely scaring a few of the courtiers there. When the princess walked out of a meeting with Ling, especially smiling as largely as she was, there was most likely going to be trouble.

Ling shook his head, smiling likewise, and walked out of the small room. Lan Fan, who had been guarding the door, sent a questioning look in his direction, but he mouthed "Later" at her, and she respectfully retreated to a few feet behind him.

* * *

><p>"Uh, Lan Fan?" The Xingese guard looked up at the nervous Amestrian. Al had been helping her secure a chandelier that had the potential to fall, but now he was sitting back on the rafters rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. "Can I talk to you?"<p>

"Wouldn't you rather talk with the Young Lord?" she asked, confused. What information could she give that someone else could not? Alphonse did not usually come to her for advice. First Mei asking for the Young Lord's help, now Al asking for hers; what was going on?

"No, actually I want to talk with you. You see," Al looked around the area as if to make sure no one was watching or listening, but as they were thirty feet above anyone else there was no one to avoid. "I want to uh, well, I've been trying to figure out how to, uh, kiss Mei, and I was wondering if you could help me."

"Oh." Unexpected. "Why would you come to me?" This seemed to make the Amestrian even more flustered.

"Oh well, you're probably the person Mei trusts the most other than Xiao Mei, who I obviously can't get to help me. You're also a girl, she's a girl…"

"I see." Lan Fan said, cutting him off. "I do not believe I can be much help for you, though. As a guard, I cannot allow myself to indulge in such daydreams."

"Oh," Al looked crestfallen, "Can you not help me at all? I mean, you haven't always been a guard…" Lan Fan was rather glad for the mask covering her face; it hid the rather pronounced blush that was dusting her cheeks. To tell the truth, she had imagine the exact situations Al was looking for, but when she was much younger and still didn't know just how much trouble the Young Lord could get her into.

"True, I was not always. I'm afraid the only imagining I did in those times were about becoming a guard."

"You've never had a crush? At all?" he asked, shock and disbelief on his face. The red coloring intensified under her mask.

"No." _Yes._

"Oh. Well thank you anyways…" Al turned around and started to walk down the central beam, however Lan Fan could not hold back one last comment.

"Al?" He turned. "You should know that if I had never chosen to follow in my grandfather's footsteps, I would have wanted my first kiss to be at the edge of the pool in the palace." He grinned widely and she managed a small smile in response.

* * *

><p>As soon as Al removed the transmuted ladder rungs from the wall, he was ambushed by the small Chang heiress.<p>

"Woah, Mei. Don't jump out at me like that!" She smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry, Alphonse— I mean Al. Did you get anything?" she asked eagerly.

"By the lake," he filled in, smirking. "When I asked her, she was blushing up a storm. She may think that mask hides it, but it really doesn't. It's actually rather obvious to anyone who knows her well. Anyways, she kept denying it, but when I started to climb down she said she wished that her first kiss was by the pool on the grounds."

"Ling told me about a romantic situation that's not too smothering and where you're alone, but not isolated. Add that with the pond, I'm thinking about a nice evening trapped in the grounds." Al smirked in a fashion reminiscent of his brother.

"I have a better idea. It will take a few bribes though…" Mei scoffed.

"I thought we were planning on that in the first place."

* * *

><p>"Why do we have to come along again?" Ling asked Al for what must have been the hundredth time. As always, Lan Fan followed a few steps behind the Emperor. Al and Mei were both dressed up nicer than their usual; Al in formal Xingese clothing and Mei in a pink dress. The four were walking around in the grounds alone.<p>

"Because," Al explained, again, "if you're here, the no one will think we're going to be going off on our own. I've already bribed the servants to stay away from the area, so once we're out of sight of the palace, you two can go off, and Mei and I can slip away to the gardens." Ling shrugged, like he had the other times he had questioned Al about their actions.

Once the group had walked a sufficient distance from the palace, true to the plan, Al and Mei walked off together, holding hands. Ling smiled as he watched them go.

"So, how much to you want to bet the Imperial nieces and nephews will have blond hair or gold eyes?" he chuckled.

"Do you think she would be allowed to?" Lan Fan asked quietly from his shoulder. Ling glanced back at her.

"Well, he is technically a very important Amestrian figure. I'm sure I would even have to bend any laws to make sure she could. If we even really wanted to, we could probably even use it to bump the Chang clan up a few notches!" Ling could hear the smile in her voice as Lan Fan replied.

"Yes, Young Lord." He laughed and pulled her along by the hand towards the lake.

"Come on! We're out here alone and Al's made sure no one's going to come by. Can't we at least have a little fun?"

"That would be highly inap—" With one look from his narrow eyes she closed her mouth. "Yes, Young Lord."

"Come on, the pool's over here!"

After reaching the pool the two sat down by the edge and talked a bit, meandering through topics. Issues, old memories, new memories, members of the court. Ling did an especially good impersonation of one of his uncles, an old man who seemed to be built of squares and had a voice so low it was almost ridiculous.

To be honest it would have been one of the most charming moments of his Emperorship so far, until they both noticed the two sources of _qi_ that were right outside the ring of trees. Ling rolled his eyes.

"Are they really spying on us?"

"I believe so, Young Lord."

"You've got to be kidding me," he refrained from looking over in the direction he knew the two 'lovebirds' were watching them from. "Want to give them a show?" Lan Fan cocked her head in puzzlement before Ling started pulling off the layers of robes he was wearing until he was only wearing a pair of pants.

"Young Lord?" Then he took off running down towards the pool. The pool was rather large, probably with a 12 foot depth in the middle and dark. The small lilypads floating on the surface of the pond moved with the small waves created when Ling jumped in. "Young Lord!" Lan Fan cried as she ran down to the side. When he did not surface after about half a minute, she called his name again.

"Young Lord?" There was an explosion of air bubbles rising to the surface, but no Ling.

After another minute of nothing more, she started sounding desperate.

"Ling!" she shrieked. When there was no response, she tossed her mask to the side and dove into the pool. Using her sense of _qi,_ she found where Ling lay floating in the water. The water was dark, so dark that she couldn't tell which direction was upward and which way was downwards. It was actually Ling who clued her in, a single, small bubble let loose from his lip and she kicked with all her might in the direction of that small bubble.

When she broke the surface, she pulled him to shore, where he wasn't breathing.

"Ling? LING!" she shrieked harder, slapping his face and putting her head to his chest to check for a heartbeat. It was there, beating strongly, in fact. She felt the muscles underneath her head tense and she looked up to see him smiling at her.

"Miss me?" he questioned, the promptly began laughing. The truth dawning on her, she glared at him and slapped him on the arm.

"That was not funny! I was seriously scared!" He was still laughing. "I am serious Young Lord! How could you do that, I was seriously scared! I thought you were in danger!" She looked away angrily.

"Hey," he said, putting a large hand on her chin, forcing her face towards him. "I'm sorry. I didn't know it would affect you like that. I was trying to freak them out, not you."

"Promise me you won't do something like that ever again," she plead.

"Promise," he said quietly.

* * *

><p>"That jerk!" Mei proclaimed. "How could he do that?"<p>

"I think he knew we were watching and wanted to scare us. I'm sure he didn't know that she would react that way."

"At least it plays to our advantage. This is the most open I've seen them be with each other since the desert," Mei commented, with raised eyebrows. "Geez, why does one of them have to risk their life to get the other to admit that they love each other?"

All looked sidewise at the small princess who was staring at the couple by the side of the water. The moonlight was highlighting her black hair and making her pale skin glow. She looked absolutely beautiful.

"Mei," he said cautiously. She glanced quickly back at him.

"Yeah, Alphonse?"

"Um, when we were trying to get information out of them, I have to ask, you played you part really well. You know, about me wanted to kiss you…" Mei turned around and stared into Al's golden eyes.

"Yeah,"

"Well, I was wondering if, if maybe you—" He was cut off when suddenly Mei turned around gasping.

"Al, you have to look! They're kissing! This is amazing!"

"Really?"

"Yeah!" He smiled at her enthusiasm. Perhaps some other time. Obviously this was going to be Ling and Lan Fan's moment.

He knew when he had played his part; every world out of his mouth about Mei had been true. He wasn't quite sure if her part had been quite so honest, but he would find out. Some other time.


	12. The First Time They Met AU

**Modern day AU. HEAVILY EDITED from its last posting. Like, EXTREMLY.**

**Background that you don't get in the actual story: Instead of the norm, as little childrensies, the Elric brothers were trying to find a way to save their mother and ended up giving themselves a cancer-like disease. So Ed, who has a diluted form of this disease, tries to gain grants for his research to fund his searching for a cure. When the military hear about him, the recruit him for their Bio Warfare program. What Ed doesn't know as he's working for them, is that they have no intention of using this weaponry against the people threatening to attack, but against their own citizens to invoke a war. When Ed finds out, he starts to fight against them. **

**But none of that actually has anything to do with AlMei, so I'll stop talking about it.**

* * *

><p>They certainly got some interesting looks.<p>

A group consisting of a small Xingese girl, a tall and intimidating Ishvalan, and a thin furtive Amestrian, and a small panda hidden in the corner of a lesser-known and not exactly respectable inn. Mei honestly had no idea how she had ended up in such a strange group. After weeks of begging, he father had finally allowed her to visit Amestris; something she had dreamed of doing ever since she had heard of him.

Edward Elric was a prodigy in the world of medical science. At the age of eight he had performed his first surgery and by twelve he had discovered a cure for a lesser-known but deadly disease that had almost killed her entire town. He had started working with that country's military to help even more people. He was fifteen Mei was happy to report that she was almost twelve. They were a perfect match.

True, he didn't know who she was, but that would soon change. That was the real reason she had wanted to come to this country, even though her father believed it was to experience new cultures. Even if it wasn't her true intention, Mei was definitely learning a lot about Amestris's customs along the way. For example, the fact that an eleven year old girl could be with two wanted criminals in a bar and no one would question it.

She wasn't sure she liked it, but it served her purposes.

Mei had not intended to end up with said wanted criminals. When she had crossed the desert border between their countries, she had expected to find her way to Central all by herself, but had collapsed soon after. The thin man, Yoki, had saved her and she had offered her medical services in payment. True they weren't extensive, but still satisfactory. Better than a First Aid kit with instructions in Japanese.

When she heard they were traveling to Central themselves, she had to hop onboard. It was almost as if they had been placed in her lap. Someone or something divine clearly wanted her to end up with her true love. So, did she like the fact that the country she would raise her and Edward's children in didn't question small girls being with criminals, no. Did she mind it at this particular moment? No, not at all.

They had stopped at the inn to get some food and maybe a room if there was one. Yoki had gone off to get said items, leaving Mei alone with Mr. Scar. Mr. Scar was a large man, with dark skin and a large X-shaped scar across his face. Red eyes that she had become accustomed to searched around the room.

Mei was contenting herself with swinging her legs back and forth on her stool when Mr. Scar stood up. Looking up quickly, she had just enough time to catch sight of his face before he muttered angrily,

"Edward Elric." Mei almost squealed.

"Edward Elric? Where? Where is Edward?" she asked him eagerly. Scar lifted a finger and pointed judgmentally.

"That's him."

He was pointing at a table where two teenagers were sitting, hunched over bowls of something steaming. Both were blond with golden eyes and seemed deep in discussion. One was noticeably shorter than the other and wearing a braid. The other was taller with short hair and kind eyes. That must be him.

Without even waiting to see how Scar reacted further, she jumped off the stool and ran across the room. This was her chance. True, it would be a number of years until they could actually get married (this was the 21st century, you didn't get married at 13) but there was plenty of time for their love to flourish in the meantime. But how should she approach? Expressing her love right off the bat might be the wrong choice, as well as kissing him. She didn't want to simply walk up to him and introduce herself; it seemed too common, too forgettable. What about years later when their children asked how their parents met and she was only able to answer "I walked up and said 'Hi'"?

But then she was already in front of them and it was too late for any more planning.

"Edward," she said quietly enough to be shy and delicate but loud and forceful enough to be heard and make an impression. Both boys turned to look at her, though the boy in the red jacket must be his brother Alphonse. Maybe they were just so close that they responded to each other's names for safety. Maybe it was a defense strategy; surely a number of men must be after her Edward. The red was probably to distract from the _real_ Edward Elric.

"My name is Mei Chang and you don't know me, but you saved the lives of everyone in my town. I want you to know that I am forever in your debt." She reached up on her tippy-toes and touched her lips to his cheeks, which turned red. "If there is anything—"

"Um… I think you're slightly confused," he said kindly. She laughed lightly, praying that it sounded enticing, though that might be hard coming from an eleven-year-old's mouth.

"No, you're Edward Elric, the gifted medical scientist. In 2010 you came to the village of—"

"Actually that wasn't me, you see—" A heavy hand was placed on her shoulder and she turned around to see the demons from hell rising in front of her.

"I'm Edward Elric."

She blinked in confusion.

"Not you're not."

"Yes, I am," he growled. There was a great deal of anger in his eyes as if he got this a lot. How admirable. He was willing to protect his older brother at all costs.

"It's okay, Alphonse, you don't have to protect Edward from me by pretending to be him. I am not a danger." Mei smiled reassuringly so that he would be able to sense her good intentions. However this did not seem the placate him and the anger in his eyes almost escalated. Thanks to her over-active imagination (which had gotten her in trouble plenty of times before) she couldn't help but imagine flames leaping from his eyes.

"How. Thick. Are. You? GET IT THROUGH YOUR TINY LITTLE BRAIN! HE IS NOT EDWARD ELRIC THAT IS ME!" he shouted so loud that the rest of the patrons turned to look at the table. The other boy—he had to be Edward, simply had to be because this one could NOT be him—winced and muttered something under his breath. It sounded an awful lot like "Here we go again. How many inns are you going to get us kicked out of, Ed?"

He called him Ed. Ed was short for Edward. This rice-sized boy… he couldn't be!

"You're not him… you can't be him…"

"I AM!" he shouted again and the other boy (Alphonse?) reached across the table to grab his brother's shoulder.

"Calm down Brother. People are starting to stare—"

"How dare you?" Mei breathed out. The boys turned to look at her, anger still apparent on the imposter's face and confusion on the others.

"HOW DARE YOU TAMPER WITH THE HEART OF A YOUNG MAIDEN!" she screamed. How could they? How could he? He had purposely deceived her with lies of his genius and bravery! How many other girls had fallen prey to the trap? Dozens? Hundreds? Did he enjoy watching their fragil hearts break when they discovered exactly what he actually was!

"YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS!"

Trying to fight back tears (tears of anger, she told herself), she ran from the room, pushing people out of the way as she went. She didn't notice or frankly care when a few of them were sent into walls from the force of her pushes. The years spent learning martial arts from her coach back home weren't for nothing after all.

The door she ended pushing through lead to a small back ally and she curled up in a ball behind one of the dumpsters. The whole time she was muttering curses under her breath. How day they try to tamper with her heart?

How dare they… how dare they…

"A girl?"

Mei's head shot up. That voice was... terrifying. Where was it coming from? The light from the mouth way of the alley was blocked by a large figure that almost took up the entire space. It looked to be a fat man with an almost… hungry expression on his face.

"Get back," she warned, and cursed her voice for sounding shaky.

"Such tender flesh!"

She felt something collide with her chest as she went flying into the dumpster behind her. Blinking back tears of pain, she lifted her head to see the man bearing down on her. She tried to lift herself up but there was a sharp pain in her side; she couldn't do it.

"You're mine!" She could only see the gaping wide mouth as he moved closer. It was larger than any mouth she had ever seen. The tongue was dripping with saliva.

Then the light in the alley flared and then suddenly he was gone, replaced by the boy who had been with the rice-sized-boy in a crouching position. He must have kicked the man out of the way.

"Are you all right?" he asked. Mei wanted to answer, but she could even keep her head up anymore. He seemed to take this as a sign that she wasn't, however, because he crawled over to her.

"No, no, no, you have to be alright. Not someone else… you have to be alright."

"I'm…" she tried to tell him that she was fine but the words wouldn't come. He seemed to take this as an answer that she was not alright though because he slipped his arms (they were so thin…) underneath her body and carried her almost bridal style through the open door leading back to the inn.

"I… didn't… ask for help…"

What had that man done? Broken a rib? Breathing was painful.

"You can't honestly be that naïve. That man was going to kill you, and from the look of things eat you after. Central is a messed up place these days and you have to have protection."

Mei was about to reply hotly that she didn't need protection, she had protection, when she saw the darkness closing in on her vision. The rhythm of him carrying her was very soothing…

Then she was lost to the world.

* * *

><p>Mei continued to float in and out of consciousness for who knew how long. Sometimes there were be completely silence around her and she would quickly drift back into sleep. Other times there would be talking and noise, usually by the rice-boy who would be scowling and snapping angrily. She was usually in the most pain when he was around, probably because he was changing her bandages or something.<p>

Whether there was noise or not she could almost always count on the man (boy?) who had saved her standing or sitting near her bed. Why was he there? She didn't know him and he didn't know her, why would he care so much about her? There had to be more important things for him to be doing.

The same held true for the one day that she woke up and drift away shortly after.

"Whhhaaa…?" she muttered as she unstuck her eyelids. His face was almost instantly in her field of vision, hanging over her.

"Are you okay?"

She could help it when she instinctively reacted and connected the heel of her hand with his nose. He jerks back, handing flying to his nose. He didn't swear, but he did start making some inhuman noises.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry!" she apologized instantly. Then she realized he was laughing. "… I'm sorry?"

"That was a stupid move on my part," he said, still laughing and holding his nose. There was a lot of blood. "I should have realized that seeing my face as soon as you woke up would make you want to hit something."

"Oh no! That wasn't it!" Compared to his brother, this man could have won a Sexist Man Alive award. On his own, he was very handsome. "I'm sorry, I just react… rather violently. You were just so close…"

"I understand," he said smiling through the blood that was flowing from his nose. "But could you excuse me so that I can stop the bleeding?"

She smiled apologetically and nodded. He nodded his thanks and walked out of the room, tipping his head back as far as it would go. Mei took the opportunity to examine the room she was in. She was lying on the only bed in the room and there wasn't much else there. A chair, where he must have been sitting, and a few medical instruments lying on a table.

Gingerly, she touched her side and was able to tell through the thin Xingese fabric that there were tight fabrics wrapped around her chest. Her cheeks burned when she realized they must have had to take her shirt off to have done so. Thankfully all of the bandages were fairly low.

He stumbled back into the room a little later, a large wad of toilet paper shoved up his nose.

"I should probably have Ed look at this to make sure it heals straight. Last time I tried fixing my own nose… well I'm lucky Winry said something and was able to find a mirror fast enough." He smiled at her and she felt her heart flutter a little. Could this man be the balm for her broken heart?

"You said your name was Mei Chang, right?" She smiled and nodded back. He remembered her name! "I'm Alphonse Elric."

Then she remembered exactly who he was. He wasn't a knight in shining armor! He was just as horrible and evil as his older brother! He had been just as involved in the plot to break her fragile heart as that awful short boy had!

Her sudden disgust must have shown on her face because he winced.

"Yeah, you're probably not too fond of my brother right now, huh?" Her glare was enough of an answer for him. "Hey! Don't look at me like that! I'm nothing like my brother. For one, I'm obviously much taller. And my face is not as harsh." No denying those two facts. "And I'm not short tempered like him. I'm a gentleman." Could… he was much taller and his face was kind, not at all harsh like his brother's. He was obviously much more kind, as well proved by him attempt to save her. She had been falling for the wrong Elric this whole time!

The sudden change must have shocked or scared him a little because he pulled away a little. Luckily she didn't have to try to fix things and say something stupid because the door slammed open. The bean sprout was there. Alphonse sent her a slightly worried look but she only sent him a cursory glare before returning her rapturous gaze to her knight.

"Al, I think I found another clue."

"Really?"

"Yeah. This time it seems legit. Pack up quickly."

"But Brother… what about Mei?" He was worrying about her! How romantic! Edward;s eyes flicked towards her before returning to his brother.

"Her bandages should do the trick. Don't move around too much for the next week and you'll be fine." His voice was so much harsher and ugly than his brother's. Alphonse turned to her as his brother stomped away.

"Do you have anywhere to stay? We have to leave but if you don't I have a friend who would be happy to let you in…"

"No, that's okay," she answered. She didn't want him to think that she couldn't be independent. But she didn't want him to think of her as too independent. "I have a friend here myself."

"Good," he grinned and she wanted him to smile again. It was so charming. He stood up and threw a few things in a bag before walking to the door.

"You can stay here for a few days or until you feel better. If you talk to the owner, just tell him you're on the Elric tab and you can get whatever you want. They'll let you use the phone too." He smiled again. "I hope we run into each other again."

Then he was gone and Mei smiled.

"I hope so too."


	13. So Beautiful

Five o'clock was much too early, in Edward's opinion. The sun was barely waking up, so why should he be? Whatever crazy being had decided that roosters should crow at the rising of the sun was absolutely stark raving mad. At that time of day sleep should still be on everyone's mind and anyone who said differently… well, they were in the same category as the chicken guy.

Not to be misunderstood, Ed relished the opportunity to talk with his younger brother, but did he have to call so early?

"Edward! Get out of bed and talk with your brother!" Moaning, he rolled out of bed and rubbed his face. He would have to shave sometime today; there was the slightest sign of stubble.

"Coming!" he mumbled loudly, hoping the message would get across. Mornings sucked.

It took a few moments to a) pull on some pants and b) get down the stairs to where the phone was located. When he got there, he found Winry leaned against the counter chatting happily into the phone. He hadn't stayed long in the West, but even in that short period of time he had found himself missing her more and more often. Just to see her causally talking in the phone made his heart burst with happiness.

"I'm here." Winry nodded.

"Al, your brother's here. I'm gonna give the phone to him, kay?" Ed could hear a muffled affirmative before Winry handed Ed the phone.

"Hi, Brother!" Al called cheerfully into the phone. Despite the morning haze that was settled over his brain, Ed smiled to hear his brother's voice.

"Hey, Al. It's been a while."

"Yeah, I wish the phone service out here wasn't so patchy. Ling's been trying to get it more up to scratch, but it's been put on the back burner, what with the Elders demanding that it's about time to starts producing heirs." Ed nodded, before remembering his brother couldn't see him.

"Yeah. We don't get to hear from you enough."

"Sorry about not sending letters, I'm just so busy all the time now. Now that I've almost got the language down, Mei's hoping that if we move on to working more seriously on alkahestry I'll just pick up the rest as we go along. So now I've got the headache of figuring out what everyone's saying, almost non-stop alkahestry lessons, and the pressure of being an Ambassador and exploring their culture. It's exhausting, Brother."

"Oh yeah, I heard about the Ambassador thing, how do you feel about that? Imagine, my little brother, an Ambassador. You can't exactly misbehave, now can you?"

"Sure, try telling that to Ling. You'd think he was 5 years old instead of the Emperor of a powerful nation!" Al's laughing voice said through the crackly connection. "Just last week he ambushed a whole room full of maids! He was hiding in a giant basket of laundry and when one of them went to throw it in the tub, he jumped out in a mask and starting chasing them around!"

Ed joined in laughing with him. He missed being able to talk with Al, but this was different. Now he had a whole different part of his life Ed couldn't be a part of. It was strange; the brother's had always done everything together, until now.

"It sounds like you've been having fun there."

"Yeah. It's amazing, Brother. What, oh it's brother. No, I'm not going to tell him that! Because it's mean. What do you mean 'so what'? Oh, go harass a guard or something!"

"…Al?"

"Oh, sorry, brother. Mei walked by and asked who I was talking to."

"Make sure to tell her she's a beansprout for me, will you?"

"No brother! That's mean! And for your information that's what she told me to tell you!"

"For her information I'm taller than Mustang now! And I was always taller than her! So she has no right to—" The rant was cut off by not only Al's laughter, but Mei's as well. "Wait, the beansprout isn't listening in right now is she?"

"Hello, Edward," the overly cheerful voice called. "Miss me?"

"Why you little—"

"Little? Are you sure you aren't talking about yourself?"

"Who are you calling—"

"Edward Elric don't you even think about yelling at your brother!" Winry yelled from the other room. The giggling from the phone continued.

"Mei, I think you've aggravated my brother enough for the time being," Al eventually said.

"Aw, but I wanted to tell him about what Winry wrote in her last letter!" Immediately Ed started running a list in his head of all and any potentially embarrassing things he had done before Winry's last letter to Al. He then cross referenced it with the thing he never wanted Chang to know. To his dismay, it was a long list.

"I thought we agreed to never mention that again?" A heavy sigh from Mei

"Fine. I'll use it later when I need him to do something for me." _Was it just him_, Ed thought_, or_ _was it rather hot in the room?_

"Okay, I think it's time for you to go. Brother's probably getting hot already," Al mentioned to the small Xingese girl. Ed could just imagine her rolling her eyes.

"Okay. But you need to be down in the practice field for our spar in half an hour, okay?" Al made a noise of agreement.

"Sorry about that Brother," he said a few seconds after. "She kind of made me an agreement I couldn't say no to."

"Traitor," Ed mumbled in response.

"Sorry," he said again. Eventually, Ed had to concede and decided to move past the incident. For now. He had plan for the next time he ran into the heiress. Perhaps involving mortal danger to that cat of hers.

"So, Xing. Is it like you imagined?"

"Yes," Al answered after a sigh of relief, and even though he was hundreds of miles away, Ed could still imagine the completely serious look on Al face as he nodded enthusiastically. "And more."

"Oh come on, you can't only give me that! What's it like?" Al smiled, or at least, Ed imagined him smiling and getting a faraway look in his eyes as he considered the question.

"Amazing, in one word." Ed had to resist the urge to tap his automail foot against the ground.

"That's good, but I don't exactly _want_ a one word explanation, do I?"

"Fine; it's amazing. Everything around here has a dangerous air to it, like you know something dangerous will happen if you step on the wrong line. You never quite know when you've said the right thing, but when you do it's amazing. But there's just such a beauty to everything. It's so beautiful, brother, you just have to see it to believe it. Pictures just can't do it justice."

"Al, I'll be honest. I never took you to be the kind to be attracted to that type of environment. Isn't it a little stressful to be in danger all the time?"

"I'm not in danger though. I'm in her good books." Cue raised eyebrow.

"And by 'her' you mean Xing, of course." Cue red face.

"Uh… of course."

The two talked for a while longer, but after their initial conversation, it died out. Soon after, they agreed that it was time to go as Ed almost fell out of his chair. He was smiling as he put the phone back in its cradle. Dangerous to others, but exceedingly beautiful, huh? The image of the small Xingese girl came to the front of his mind and he had to roll his eyes.

"Geez Al, could ya be more obvious?"


	14. The Wedding Part 1 Getting the Letter

**I AM SO SORRY GUYS! I'm really sorry this is late! Yesterday I came home from church at about 1:00, started working on this, went to tell my little sister a story idea about 3:00 then woke up about 6:00, ate dinner, fell asleep, woke up at 1:00 pm and stayed in a comatose state until about 5:00. SORRY!**

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><p>"Wait, what did he just suggest?" Al questioned Mei, who was staring at the floor in below them in concentration.<p>

"Are you still not getting it? Alphonse I thought you said you could understand everything people said!"

"I do! But he was talking really fast!" Al protested, raising his voice slightly to show his distress.

"They are all going to talk fast. You have to get used to it. And he was making the suggestion to increase taxes on trade between the individual clans." Al nodded and returned his attention to the front of the room where Ling was answering the man's suggestion in rapid Xingese. He didn't follow every word, but he could tell that Ling was turning the man down.

Most of the next hour or so passed with Al struggling to piece together the conversation circulating the throne room. The man, who had walked out of the throne room in a huff, was the last of the day to come petitioning to the Emperor leaving the entire court, for the most part, to their own devices. A few members wandered over to his ornate seat and struck up a conversation. They were talking too quietly for Al to hear, so he contented himself with eavesdropping on the conversations around him.

To be honest, he was shocked at just how much variety there was in the conversations held in court. A pair of clan leaders in front of him were discussing varying trade partnerships, two of Mei's uncles were discussing the state of affairs since Ling had taken over, and a group of Mei's half-sisters were shamelessly gossiping.

In his brief time there, Al had discovered that most Xingese were gossipers. It was almost a social ritual to gossip; which wasn't something Al was condoning. Customs were customs. It was just awkward when there were people gossiping about you because they thought you couldn't understand what they were saying.

"You are lying!"

"I am not. I swear."

"Quiong Hong, you stop right now. He may be handsome and she may be a Chang, but I'm sure our sister would not actually be seen together with the Amestrian!"

"They're always together," one girl chimed in but Quiong shook her head.

"No they were together together! They were sitting so close together she might as well have been on his lap!"

Al blushed. Unfortunately, Princess Hong was not lying. Last week he had found a book in the library he wanted her to see. Though he had mastered the most common of the intricate symbols the Xingese used in the place of letters, this book had so many unfamiliar ones he couldn't understand he had asked Mei for help. She had obliged (though adamantly read them off to him in Xingese) and scooted closer so they could share the book. Apparently they had not been as alone as they had thought.

"Be quieter Quiong," one of them chastised. "He can hear us. Look at how red his cheeks are!"

"Oh please, Jia. He can't understand us. Did you hear him last time he tried to speak to me? His accent was so thick and his Xingese so broken he could have been talking Drachman!"

If Al hadn't been blushing before, he was now. He had only been seriously studying the language for five or six months. How was he supposed to pick up an entire language in that time? He was still struggling with the customs.

"Oh look. A carrier boy is here," Jia interrupted. Most of the people around her heard and the poor small boy found himself being stared at by most of the Imperial Court.

"Yes?" Ling questioned the boy when he swallowed and made no noise. "Is there something you have for me?"

"Um, yes. Yes, Your Majesty."

"And that would be?" Ling prompted kindly after the boy offered no further information.

"A letter, Your Majesty. It is addressed to a man in the court... the Ambassador Elric…"

There was whispering among the court and more than a few glances in Al's direction. How many times could he turn red in such a short period of time? Al thought angrily to himself.

"Why are you not waiting until we adjoined?"

"The translator told us that it was supposed to be urgent…"

"Very well, you may give the letter to me."

The boy's eyes widened as he approached the throne. Clearly he had never expected to go within fifteen feet of the Emperor, let alone being_ asked_ to give him something that he could by all rights and customs simply demand. Lan Fan reached out and took the letter from the boy once he was close enough and handed it to Ling after weighing it slightly with one hand. Ling took one look at the letter.

"Ambassador Elric," he called out. "Join me up here, would you?" Al nodded, bowed slightly in Ling's direction, and then pushed his way through the crowd of courtiers to the front of the room. Another bow was presented to the Emperor when he reached the throne and Ling handed him the letter.

"Read it," he proclaimed in Xingese before finishing off in Amestrian, "in your own language, please. Don't want these nosey courtiers knowing what Ed has to say to you." Al looked down at the letter. Sure enough, his name was written on the front of the letter in Ed's handwriting. When he looked up in confusion, Ling winked at him.

"Come on. You think I didn't learn to recognize the pipsqueak's handwriting when he and Greed were hoping around together for almost six months, now did you?"

"Oh." Al shrugged mentally. It did make sense. Then with one finger he broke the seal on the back of the letter and pulled out a few sheets of paper. One bore the title in big block letters "READ FIRST"

"Dear Al, and since I'm sure they're listening in, beansprout girl, idiot price, and Lan Fan," Al read at loud. On his throne, Ling tried to stifle a laugh.

"'I can't believe it's been nine months since we've seen each other. I know we talked on the phone a few weeks ago, but it's not the same as seeing each other. Good thing that is soon to be remedied. You see there's been something Winry and I never told you. At the train station when Winry came with me to say goodbye I ended up screaming' oh wait," Al corrected himself, "he crossed that out. 'I ended up asking her to' I can't even read this." Ling raised an eyebrow.

"I'm fairly sure his handwriting isn't that bad. Everyone else seemed to be able to read it."

"No, he just crossed a lot out. I think half the page is crossed out. But there's a note at the bottom. 'Just read the rest. You can bring the others if you must.'" Al stuck the piece of paper in the envelope and pulled out the other. He read through it quickly and his eyes grew wide.

"Ling. Can I talk to you I read the rest of this to you in private? I have a feeling you're not going to want the rest of the court to see your reaction."

Mei, who was still stuck in the stands with the other courtiers groaned. She wanted to hear what was going on. Al cast an apologetic look in her direction as he disappeared in the side room Ling used for private conferences.

Almost everyone around her burst into conversation as the door closed behind her. Most of the court present knew about her fluency in Amestrain and were begging her to explain the contents of the letter.

"I don't know, they were both talking much too fast," she lied with ease. "I only spent a few months there and of them, most were traveling." Only a few of them bought it however.

"Oh, come on, sister. We've all heard you talking at rapid speed with the Ambassador. You know what they were talking about."

"No," she said, shaking her head, "I really don't. There was something about the Ambassador's brother. He misses him. That's all I caught."

Most of them, especially Quiong, didn't believe her, but they couldn't easily dispute her. That was one of the things Mei loved best about being the Emperor's favored sister. Even if she was from the Chang clan, no one would dare talk ill or pick an argument with her. It did also mean she had to be extra careful about what she said in court though.

When the three walked out of the room a few minutes later, Ling was wearing a giant smile which Al was mirroring. Always a loyal guard, Lan Fan showed no emotion, but from the way Ling kept glancing at her Mei had to assume that she had showed some form of emotion inside that room.

Once Ling was seated on his throne again, Al bowed respectfully and returned to his spot next to Mei. She wanted to ask him right away what the letter was about, but with all the people around she didn't want to risk it. He winked at her and she took that as a promise to explain later. Thankfully she didn't have to wait long because soon after, Ling emptied the court under the pretense of wanted a private conference with the Elders.

"You have to tell me what that was about," she muttered to Al in Amestrian as she grabbed onto his arm and pulled him away.

"Princess, surely it can wait!" he called out in surprisingly good Xingese. A group of princesses who were standing in a huddle nearby shot them weird glances and Al smiled charmingly as they passed. Two of them blushed, one looked away, and the other two were too busy staring open mouthed to respond. Mei just rolled her eyes. When she finally found a suitable room, she opened it and pulled Al inside.

"Now, what was that about?"

"What?" he asked innocently. She glared at him.

"Alphonse, you know exactly what I'm talking about. What did Ed say in his letter? Ling was grinning wide enough to swallow a whole chicken."

"Do you really want to know?" Al asked, grinning.

"Yes!" she said exasperatedly, shoving him in the shoulder. Al smiled, if possible, grew wider.

"Well Ed and Winry want me to come back to Amestris for a bit." Al's eyes twinkled at her confusion. "For their wedding."

It took a while for what he said to sink in, but when it did Mei's eyes grew huge. Her mouth dropped and Al laughed.

"You mean they're—"

"Yup! Ed and Winry are getting married!" Mei squealed and jumped at Al, wrapping her arms around his neck. He smiled at her and she grinned back at him.

"I can't believe they actually realized it this soon! I thought it would take them ages!"

"So did I!" Al agreed. "I'm glad it didn't though. I can't wait to be Uncle Al!"

"Knowing them, it might be sooner rather than later," Mei giggled. "How did Ling react?"

"He started cheering so loud I'm surprised you guys didn't hear him. Said something about the pipsqueak beating him, which I really hope I understood correctly. Lan Fan smiled and said she was happy for him. Honestly, I don't know what would ever make that woman act her gender."

"Are they planning on going?"

"I don't know. Ling said he would ask the Elders, but I don't think they would let him to be honest."

"Oh," Mei said quietly. There was silence in the room until Al reached out and grabbed Mei's hand.

"Would you like to come? Brother did say at the end of his note that I could bring you if I wanted. Only if you want to though…" he trailed off. Mei stared at the Amestrain for a moment before squealing and wrapping her arms around him again.

"I would love to!"

"Really?"

"The idea of attending an Amestrian wedding sounds so charming! Especially Ed and Winry's! You really want me to come?"

"Yeah. I would love for you to come. You would be able to see Resembool, meet Den and Granny, and I'm sure Ed would want you to be there!" Al started laughing again at the raised eyebrow on Mei's face. "Okay, so maybe Brother wouldn't want you there, but I do."

When the two emerged from the room a minute or so later, both were grinning and refused to answer questions about what they had been doing inside the room. It was announced later that night that Ambassador Elric and the Princess Mei Chang would be leaving Xing for a month's time to attend the wedding of the Ambassador's brother. The Emperor, though not attending, was sending a gift befit of a royal heir.

In only a few days, Mei and Al were both packed and ready to go. The train they were going to board was most likely the cleanest Al had ever ridden in, considering the Emperor himself was coming to see them off.

"Alphonse," Ling said formally for the benefit of those gathered. "Give your brother heartfelt wishes of joy in the years to come from me." Then switching his tone and language, Ling winked. "And make sure to tell him not to enjoy being married too much." Al smiled and bowed slightly.

"I'll make sure to do that."

"And Mei." Mei turned around from where she was checking the loading of their luggage.

"Yes?"

"Remember not to have too much fun spending so much time with dear Alphonse. Just because the pipsqueak's getting married doesn't mean you can!"

"LING!" she yelled at him. Unfortunetly, she was stopped from making any further actions against him by the boarding announcement. Mei threw her half-brother a dirty look, which he responded to with a large smile, before stalking into the train and finding their first class cabin. Al followed.

"I've never ridden in the nice cabins before," Al said, trying to make small talk when she sat with her arms crossed staring out the window. "Being friends with important people really does have its perks."

"Except when they don't know when to keep their mouths' shut," Mei mumbled.

"Okay, Ling's comment was completely uncalled for, but come on! We're going to Resembool! We're going to be seeing Winry and Brother!"

"Yeah, I guess that will be fun. We might actually get a chance at eating since Ling's not going to come."

"Ha! You haven't seen Ed eat after being nervous!"

"You think he'd be nervous?"

"I know he's going to be nervous. Marrying Winry?"

"Well yeah, I guess that is a good point,"

They continued this conversation for a long time, until switching to another topic. It was a long journey and talking was pretty much the only way they could think of spending it. At least it was something they both enjoyed doing with each other.

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><p><strong>This is a two part thing. Next week is going to be Ed and Winry's wedding. That's going to be (hopefully) very long. I should be able to write that much considering my huge project is done except for editing. (30 pages, 13,000 word story about malaria. Is it bad that I killed a three year old boy?)<strong>


	15. The Wedding Part 2 Welcome to Resembool

**This ended up a lot longer than I expected, so the wedding is going to come in two parts. This is their arrival and the wedding wedding. Next week will be the reception and going home.**

**Fun fact: In my timeline (WHICH DESERVES TO DIE FOR CAUSING ME ANGUISH!) I had the EdWin wedding in March. I was trying to put dates on the events and when I looked at that I had to do it. Ed and Wintry get married on March 11. Had to do it guys.**

**Disclaimer: The idea of Winry's dress and they're method of exit was inspired by the picture newlyweds by Rusky-Boz on DA, and I've never actually been to a traditional wedding. I've been to plenty of receptions though! So next week will probably sound more legit. Promise.**

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><p>Four people sat in the cabin, three of them staring at anything but each other. The fourth, a blond with watchful eyes, gazed calmly at everyone and everything thing as though she couldn't sense the awkwardness pervading the room.<p>

"So, Alphonse, you must tell me about the East."

Al cleared his throat. It wasn't that he didn't like Colo— General Mustang. In fact quite the opposite was true. Al greatly respected General Mustang and someone wouldn't be too far from the truth in saying Al almost loved the man as a foster father. Al had just never actually had a one on one conversation with the man. He didn't really know what to say.

"Wha— oh. Uh, well it's pretty amazing. I love it there. Their culture is pretty different from ours. It was hard to adjust as first, but I'm really liking it."

"That's how it was in Ishval," Roy chuckled. "They have a strict but, alas, unwritten code. It took forever to get the hang of it. At least you had a tutor to help you out. Miles was just as unaware as us, and Scar was much too busy to explain anything."

"Ha!" Al barked. "As if Mei explained a thing. I spent a whole three months saying hi and introducing myself to everyone in the palace."

"What's wrong with that?" Riza asked, raising an eyebrow.

"In Xing, a person of lower status is supposed to wait for someone of higher status to address them. In theory someone of higher status is much too busy to greet everyone they pass by. In recent years it's only become another way for those of high status to ignore those below them," Mei explained for Al. She had been quiet ever since their train had left East City. When the train from Xing had stopped there, Al and Mei had had some downtime in between trains and while walking around, they had run into the General and his aid who were taking the same train to Resembol. It had made sense that they should ride together.

"By greeting everyone first, Alphonse was unknowingly being rude by forcing the person of higher into a conversation and insinuating that the person he was talking to was inferior."

Mustang whistled and cast Al a sympathetic look. Al shrugged with a small smile on his face.

"So what happened?"

"An Elder pulled me aside and told me off for saying hello to Ling before he addressed me. When he realized I actually had no idea what he was talking about, not to mention how confused I was trying to figure out his Xingese, he took pity on me and explained."

"And why did you not explain, Princess?" Riza asked politely.

"I wasn't aware he didn't know. I knew you have a similar custom among your military and so assumed he just didn't know they were considered of a high rank. Which I did explain to him. It was a simple mistake."

"Simple to you," Al muttered under his breath. "I think the former Kong Prince would quite like to kill me for insulting him in front of his son."

Mei opened her mouth to protest until she realized that what Al was saying was probably quite true. Kong's were infamous for taking simple mistakes or insults to extreme degrees. The mere fact that Mei's father had beat him out for the throne was worthy of his eternal hatred of all his nieces and nephews. She wouldn't put it past her uncle to try to kill someone who insulted his pride by insinuating a lower social position.

"Oh be quiet. It's not like he could do anything to you."

"Well I don't want to see him try," Al responded. It was only then that they looked over at their traveling companions and noticed that they were staring at them with twin looks of confusion. Al looked over at Mei in confusion until the General cleared his throat.

"You were talking in Xingese."

Both of them turned red and apologized.

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><p>"Resembool!"<p>

Al, who had already grabbed his luggage, was waiting anxiously for the train to stop so that he could get off. He was bouncing his leg up and down and Mei had to tell him to stop three times. Mustang and Hawkeye just smiled at him, fully understanding how anxious the boy was feeling.

When the train finally pulled to a stop, Al stood up and ran towards the exit and hopped out of the train. Mei followed, exasperated, leaving their adult companions to fend for themselves. When the steam cleared she saw Al looking around frantically for his brother.

"Ed?" he called out, but it was lost in the whistle. She stood on her tip toes and caught sight of another dirty blond head that was looking around.

"Alphonse!" she yelled at him. He turned to look at her and she pointed in Ed's direction. When Al caught sight of his brother he let out a shout of joy and ran towards his brother. Ed did likewise and they hugged tightly. Both were laughing and Mei was pretty sure that Al was crying.

"Ed, I've missed you so much!"

"I've missed you too, Al! Talking on the phone just isn't the same. It's good to see you to really see you. I sure hope Xing hasn't changed you too much!"

"Don't worry Brother, I've kept my sanity," Al laughed.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked loudly, putting her hands on her hips. Both brothers turned to look at her and Al smiled sheepishly.

"So you did bring the beansprout, eh?" Ed asked, throwing a casual arm over Al's shoulder.

"Hello, rice-sized boy," Mei replied. "Been a while, huh?"

"Not long enough," he answered without missing a beat. Mei grinned widely at him and he smiled back.

After greeting Mustang and Hawkeye rather explosively, the group began the trek from the train station to Rockbell residence. Ed and Al were talking animatedly about the things they had done while separated and Mustang and Hawkeye were talking about something she couldn't follow.

"You guys got here pretty late," Ed said finally, talking out loud to the whole group. "At this point, you're lucky you didn't show up the day of."

"Do you take us as idiots, Fullmetal? I don't need to deal with your wedding problems. I have enough paperwork."

Ed yelled back at the General and Al, laughing, stepped back to talk explain some things about the area they were passing through.

When the party, including the General and Hawkeye, reached the large house on the hill, Winry ran out onto the porch and hugged Al almost tighter than his brother had. She was not holding back her tears and quite frankly told him off for not coming home sooner. She then surprised everyone gathered and gave a warm hug to Mei as well.

"Thanks for making sure Al didn't drown in that country of yours. I'm glad you could come, Mei."

"Thank you, Winry," Mei replied warmly. Winry smiled and then invited them all into the house. Al was going to be sharing a room with Ed while Mei would be rooming with Winry and her friend Paninya. Mustang and Hawkeye were going to be sharing a guest room.

"So this is the Xingese girl, eh?" a gruff voice said once Mei walked down the stairs and peaked into a few rooms looking for Al. Mei turned around as saw a short woman with a pipe poking out of her mouth. "Al's talked about you."

"You must be Granny Pinako," Mei said kindly once she had gotten over the urge to grab her knives. "Al's spoken about you as well."

The woman grunted and started circling Mei, muttering under her breath. Mei stood there awkwardly, not knowing whether this was common or not. Once the woman had finished two full circles she stood in front of the princess again and stuffed a pinch of tobacco into the end of her pipe.

"You're good enough."

"… excuse me?"

"Alphonse is like a grandson to me. I wanted to make sure you were good enough with my own eyes. I have to say both boys' perceptions are rather biased and Winry's not professional enough. I needed to check myself."

"I'm sorry, I'm still confused," Mei said. "Good enough for what?"

The eccentric old woman's eyes twinkled. She puffed a few times from her pipe, clearly relishing the confused look on Mei's face. Mei was going to ask again, but the Al came around the corner and smiled at her.

"Mei, Ed and I are going to go to town for a bit. Winry wanted to buy the flowers as fresh as possible, so we're getting them tonight. Would you like to come with us?" Mei smiled and nodded. When she turned around to ask the woman again, she was gone.

Shrugging, she accompanied Al to the town where he and Ed had fun relating various old stories to her. Ed and Al were laughing and smiling while they told her, and though she felt slightly third-wheel-ish, she couldn't help but laugh as well. When they reached the flower shop, the man congratulated Ed on his marriage and gave him a discount for "Finally working up the courage to ask the girl".

The shopping took a lot longer than they had anticipated, what with every person they passed stopping them to tell Ed congratulation, and they didn't get back with the flowers until the sun was almost going down. Dinner was somewhat tense. There was an air of nervousness hanging over everyone there and the military personal excused themselves early.

Afterwards were a lot of last minute preparations which they needed everyone's help with, so Mei was so tired when she went to bed that night that she fell down on her blankets and lost consciousness immediately.

* * *

><p>Mei decided that she had never attended such an odd, but extremely charming event. Everything from the music to the dresses was different from the ones she had grown up with. Even so, she could feel the happiness and excitement flowing through the crowd.<p>

Al had an important part in the wedding party, functioning as both the Best Man—which as Mei understood it was in charge of the ring—and giving Winry away. Apparently that honor was usually bestowed upon the bride's father or another mature male figure in her life. Since her father, grandfather, and almost every male figure in her life was dead, Al was unanimously voted in.

But with Al spending the entire ceremony either leading Winry up the aisle or at Ed's side, she was left alone. In almost any other function this would have been acceptable, but the other people she would normally associate with were also a part of the wedding. In the end she finally decided to sit next to the woman Al had called Mrs. Gracia. Her daughter, Elicia, if Mei remembered correctly, smiled at her and immediately asked her mother to switch seats with her so that she could sit next to "The pretty black haired lady".

As they waited for the prelude music to end, Mei enjoyed talking with the two Hughes. Elicia was absolutely adorable and didn't stop asking questions about Xing the whole time. Gracia had apologized for her daughter's enthusiasm, but Mei had firmly told her that it was no bother. When Mei introduced her to Xiao Mei, Mei almost thought the girl was going to faint right there. The six year old had squealed loudly and begged to be allowed to hold her.

Xiao Mei spent the rest of the evening on Elicia's shoulder or in her arms.

Mei was explaining the significance of being the Emperor's daughter to the girl ("You're a princess! Do you live in a castle with other princesses and servants and pretty toys and—"), when the music changed. An instant hush fell over the crowd and everyone that wasn't seated already sat down. Ed, who Mei was forced to admit, looked very handsome, straightened and fixed his eyes on the archway at the end of the aisle.

Mei turned her head in that direction as well, just in time to see the two flower girls taking off down the aisle. Both were dressed in matching green dresses and were absolutely adorable.

"Winry wanted Elicia to be a flower girl, but we didn't get the request until it was too late. I think these are both girls she used to take care of."

Mei nodded and smiled at Elicia who was staring glumly at the girls. She would have leaned forward and whispered something to the girl, but it was then that Winry, on Al's arm, followed the flower girls. A ripple of gasps ran through the crowd.

Winry looked absolutely stunning. Her hair was up in a bun littered with flowers that allowed her bangs to hang down. Her dress had a full skirt and a lacy bodice that hugged her shape in just the right spots. It was more than that though; she simply radiated happiness. There was a huge smile on her face and her eyes were shining as they looked directly at Ed, who looked like he had just been hit with a shovel.

Mei, however, only had eyes for the man who was walking by Winry's side. Al looked more handsome that she had ever seen him, which she thought could never happen. _Let's face it,_ she told herself, _he looked amazing in a sopping wet white shirt_. But even completely dry, he was her perfect image of a Prince. The suit he was wearing accentuated his excellent physic and made him look tall and mature. There was a sparkle in his eyes that proved just how happy he was.

When they made their way up to the where Ed stood collecting flies in his mouth. Al lifted Winry's hand off his arm and handed it to Ed then kissed Winry on the cheek. Remembering the time she had accused Al of cheating on her with his childhood friend, Mei had to chuckle quietly. Al moved so that he could stand next to Ed and looked out over the crowd. When he caught Mei's eye he winked and mouthed "Brother's been struck dumb". She smiled back at him.

The man who was supposed to be reading the official vows started talking and most of the crowd dedicated their attention to him. Winry was staring dutifully at the man but Ed was still goggling at Winry. To be honest, Mei really couldn't blame him. The man wasn't much to look at, or listen to for that matter.

He rambled on until reaching a point when most of the crowd sat up a little straighter and stared forward.

"Edward Elric do you take Winry Rockbell to be your wedded wife to live together in marriage. Do you promise to love, comfort, honor and keep her for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health. And forsaking all others, be faithful only to her so long as you both shall live?"

He nodded enthusiastically and proclaimed "I do."

The man repeated the phrase to Winry. Eye shinning with what Mei supposed were tears, she also said "I do". The man said a few more words and they exchanged rings. Then the man invited them to kiss. For a moment it looked like they weren't going to, but then Ed grinned and kissed his new bride so enthusiastically the crowd burst into cat calls and yelling. The cried were renewed when Winry replied just as enthusiastically.

Mei caught Al's eye and he smirked and rolled his eyes. Mei replied in a similar manner. They waited until Ed and Winry finally had to come up for air and Ed had swept Winry up in his arms and ran down the aisle. The crowd laughed then began to get up and move around. Al came over to Mei almost immediately and they both started laughing.

"I have to tease Brother about that later," he said.

"If you can get him to pay attention to you," Mei replied slyly. He laughed and pulled her towards the exit.

"Come on, the reception's going to be amazing!"


	16. The Wedding Part 3 The Reception

**This actually turned out a lot shorter than I thought it would. I was expecting a 3500 document, but it's on a few hundred over 2000. Well, I did cut out her birthday so that was probably another 700 or so... Sorry, I'm rambling. I've been doing that a lot today.**

**I would tell you what I don't like about this one, but then you would be sure to notice it and if you don't that's all the better for me. I don't own FMA**

**Okay, I don't know what happened. I uploaded this yeterday. I even finished early! This is seriously angering me. :(**

* * *

><p>"You look really pretty in that dress, Mei," Al told her as she walked arm in arm with him. Mei blushed and looked down. On the grounds of not wanting to stand out and distract from Winry's big moment in any way, Mei had barrowed and old dress of Winry's. The mechanic had relished the opportunity to play dress up with her old clothes and had picked out a royal blue three quarter sleeved ankle length dress.<p>

"Thank you, Alphonse. You look very charming as well."

He inclined his head in acceptance of the compliment and guided her to the plot of land near the Rockbell's house that would hold the reception. There was already a small portion of people gather there who were making their way to the buffet table. Ed and Winry had still not reappeared.

"Come on," Al said, pulling her over to the largest table. "I'm the best man and you're my guest so we get to sit with Ed and Winry. If they ever show up."

He pulled out a chair for her (something she could not convince him to stop, but loved when he did anyways) and asked what she would like to eat. Since she honestly had no idea what cuisine would be the best choice, Al graciously offered to fetch something for her. A few moments later she was joined by Granny who was smiling around her pipe.

"My granddaughter and Edward sure know how to make an exit, don't they?"

"They sure do," Mei agreed. "Do you know where they are right now?"

"No, I don't. They should show up though. If they don't, they'll regret it. There's a line between being happy and being foolish," Pinako growled.

"A line you made very clear when Ed started talking about his bachelor's party," Al said as he walked up behind them and dropped two plates on the table. Pinako grunted in agreement before standing up and walking away to check on the food.

"What's a bachelor's party?" Mei asked Al and she picked up a fork.

"Um… it's supposed to be a party celebrating the groom's last night as a "free man". Things usually get pretty crazy." Mei raised an eyebrow.

"So what did you do for it?"

"... we actually didn't have one. Granny told Ed point blank that if a single male showed up to the wedding with a hangover she would throttle everyone who attended. Which is slightly hypocritical considering she met her husband by drinking him under the table, but..." he trailed off. Mei giggled and began to work on cutting the steak up. She personally didn't see why they were supposed to cut the meat up themselves, but it seemed that nobody else was having troubles with it.

As she was still struggling to cut through the meat, Ed and Winry finally made their appearance holding hands and looking so overjoyed, saying happy didn't quite cut it.

"Well you two took your time getting here," Al said cheekily. Ed just smiled and Winry laughed. They pulled out chairs and sat down, not even bothering to get any food.

"Just wait Al. When you get married you're not even going to show up to your reception."

"Of course I will, Brother. I wouldn't want Winry kill you at my wedding. That would but a downer on the events."

"Don't worry Al. Winry's not going to kill Ed at your wedding. He'll be gone by the end of the month," Mei said with a smirk.

"Hey, Winry said in protest. "One, I'm not that violent, and two if I haven't killed him yet, why would I start now?" Granny, who had found the food to be satisfactory for the moment, came over and barked in laughter.

"Just wait until you're pregnant, Winry dear. I'm pretty sure he'll be a goner then. I almost killed your grandfather a number of times while I was carrying Urey."

"Granny!"

The whole group laughed. Ed scooted his chair closer to Winry's and she laid her head on his shoulder.

"What about Mei?" she said from her new position. "She's a master of alkahestry and keeps knives on her person at all times. Why aren't you accusing her of killing her husband?"

"Because Al's too nice for anyone to want to kill," Ed said teasingly. Both Al and Mei turned red.

"Brother! We're friends!"

"Ed!"

Ed laughed heartily when Winry smacked him on the chest. He laid a hand on her head and grinned at Al.

"I'm sorry Al. I couldn't resist." Al rolled his eyes and stabbed his steak, cheeks still a little pink. Ed promptly lost interest in his younger brother and started stroking Winry's hair which had found its way out of its bun. Mei followed Al's example and took a bite of her food.

It wasn't bland exactly. There were plenty of spices, but it lacked the kick that always accompanied her normal food. Al must have felt the same way because he was staring slightly disappointed at his plate.

"I used to love steak, especially Granny's. But now it doesn't taste right," he mumbled in Xingese. Though Granny was the only one who might be listening in since Ed and Winry were in no position to be paying attention to anyone else, it still made both of them slightly more comfortable. "I blame you."

"What? Why?"

"Because it's your fault. I never would have gone to Xing and lost my taste for good food if it weren't for you." Mei stopped chewing her food and only her "princess training" prevented her jaw from dropping. When he saw her expression he turned slightly pink and finished quickly in Amestrain. "For alkahestry, of course. A- and Ling." She nodded along with him.

Today was just a day full of blushing, wasn't it?

%^&*UIK

"Would you like to dance, Mei?" Al asked her graciously. She smiled at him before pretending to frown.

"But there's no rain. It wouldn't be the same."

Al laughed and she dropped her hand in his. He led her out to the quickly filling dance floor and placed one hand on her hip. Her hand was on his shoulder and they moved together. It was unfortunately a short dance and Al went to cut in on Ed and Winry's dance. Another man who looked like he was from Resembool came up to her and asked for a dance which she accepted. She accepted a dance from both Major Armstrong and Denny Brosh. They had both previously spent time in Xing and had heavily leaned on Mei to translate for them.

After those few dances, Mei was almost at a loss for what to do, when General Mustang asked for a dance. She graciously accepted. They made small talk, but she could tell his mind was elsewhere. More particularly, on the blond sniper who was dancing with Major Armstrong.

"General, if you like to dance with Miss Hawkeye, I'm sure she would accept," she said when he looked over in her direction again. Roy looked confused at her, but then he smiled.

"Am I that obvious?"

"Considering you've looked in her direction at least ten times and freak out when you can't find her immediately, yes. You are that obvious."

"You're very perceptive, Princess," Roy chuckled. "But she has unfortunately already declined."

"Go ask her again," Mei said simply before smiling at him. He nodded and snapped to a salute and walked off towards where Hawkeye was standing. After a few words she couldn't hear he placed a hand on her lower back and they walked away from the crowd on the dance floor.

She didn't see them again until a man Mei didn't recognize stood up and announced that Winry was about the toss the bouquet. Al, who had been dancing with a woman Mei remembered him and Ed calling "Teacher", came over to her side. Riza and Roy emerged, seemingly out of midair, had a hushed conversation, and Riza joined the group forming near where Winry was standing holding her flowers.

"What is the bouquet toss?" She asked him as they watched the group enlarge.

"The bride, meaning Winry, throws the bouquet into a crowd of all the unmarried women. Whoever catches it is supposedly going to get married next."

"Should I still go? I don't exactly have any plans to get married any time soon," Mei said, raising an eyebrow.

"So?" he stated before pushing her good naturedly towards the floor. "Go on. It'll be fun."

Casting Al a look, Mei closed the distance between herself and the contingent of girls waiting on the dance floor. A few of them she recognized—Riza, who was muttering about "Sneaky, coercing horse", a bubbling Elicia, Winry's friend Paninya, and Lieutenant Maria Ross — as well as a few she didn't, including a woman with curly black hair who was bouncing around Riza and a few other girls from Resembool.

"Princess!" Elicia shouted when she saw Mei. "I'm gonna get the flowers and I'm gonna marry that boy over there!"

"Don't you want to wait until you're older?" Riza asked the small child. "Men can be pretty annoying. Don't get shackled too soon."

"That's rich coming from you, Riza," the curly haired woman said. "You already act like it. Right now the only thing you need to prove you're shackled to him is a new shiny name saying 'Riza Mustang.'"

"Rebecca, why are you even here? Do you know Edward or Winry?" Riza asked wearily.

"No. I heard you were going to a wedding and I made it my goal to make sure you and Mustang finally realized that you need to get married as well."

"So you're crashing."

"With good intentions." Riza opened her mouth to protest but Winry chose that moment to call out.

"Ready?" There were sounds of affirmation. "One, two, three!" Winry arced her arm over her head and the bouquet was airborne. One of the Resembool girls squealed when it looked like it was going to come to her, but in her haste to grab it she tripped and the flowers fell into the outstretched arms of a very excited girl.

"I did it! I did it! I caught the flowers!"

Mei and most of the girls smiled at the look on the girl's face as she ran off to show her mother. It was only until she came back and started handing out flowers one by one to all the girls that they started squealing.

"Here you go, Princess!" Elicia said handing Mei a blue flower that matched her dress. When she reached Riza, however, instead of handing her a flower Elicia shoved the rest of the bouquet into her hands.

"Now Aunty Riza can marry Uncle Roy!"

So it was that a blushing Riza Hawkeye accepted a triumphant Roy Mustang's offer to dance.

FTYUKJM

Things moved quickly from that point on. There was cake eating (Winry shoved it into Ed's face quite happily), more dancing (Graica told a red Mei that she and Al really made a cute couple on the dance floor), rescuing of a certain panda (Elicia tried to sneak off with Xiao Mei hidden under her dress, but when Gracia found out she made her daughter "Give the poor cat back to Miss Chang and apologize"), a lot of teasing (Al was telling everyone he was sleeping OUTSIDE tonight before Ed told him they had rented a room in town for the night), present opening (Ed loved Ling's gift), and other such activities.

Mei didn't think she had ever had so much fun.

Unfortunately, after the wedding everyone was tired enough that they fell asleep. The next day was dedicated to cleaning up and then they had to pack for the return trip to Xing. Mei told Al that if he wanted to stay, she would have no problem doing so, but he declined.

"If I spend too much time home, I'll never go back to Xing. Plus, Winry and Ed are much too preoccupied to be spending any time with us!" he told her laughing, but she could see in his eyes that he wasn't happy about the prospect of leaving home. So they packed up their stuff and brought it to the train station three days after the wedding. Ed and Winry both hugged him, Winry slightly teary. She hugged Mei as well and Mei was happy to say she didn't feel awkward returning it.

When the final boarding call was announced, Al and Mei got onto the train and waved to the Elrics. Ed, with his arm wrapped around Winry's shoulders, and Winry waved back until they couldn't see each other anymore.

"You're really going to miss them, aren't you?" Mei asked. Al nodded and they sat in silence together for a few moments.

"Don't worry," he told muttered after a while. "As soon as we get back and you start harras― sorry, teaching me, I'll be fine."

"Hey! Maybe if you were a better pupil—"

"What? Whatever happened to 'I can't believe you're getting it so fast, Alphonse! You're such an amazing student!'?"

"Well he must have disappeared and left you."


	17. Senses

**This one is a little different. It's not solely Al/Mei. It's more… Al with AlMei, if you know what I mean. It started out as a small drabble about him and how smell has factored into their relationship, then I started thinking about the end when she runs at him crying, then I started talking about that, then I thought I should add earlier, then I thought there wasn't enough AlMei, and well this is the result. Hope you enjoy!**

**Oh and the reason he's so emotional about his body now, is cause I thought it was weird how passive he is about having his body when he's back in the real world and my brain told me that that's probably because he's already had a good laugh/cry over being able to feel his heart and stuff.**

* * *

><p>"I can't wait to see what he will sacrifice"<p>

Al narrowed his eyes at the white figure sitting across the empty space from him. It was smiling, to little surprise. Al wanted to make some comeback, but nothing came to him. He didn't know what Ed would end up sacrificing. They had agreed that they would never, ever, use a human life to get their bodies back, but when faced with a life without his younger brother would Ed follow through with that promise?

As if he could sense Al's thoughts, Truth snickered. Al looked up to see him standing up.

"I'll be back, Alphonse Elric. He has been avoiding his judgment for far too long." A questioning looked made its way onto Al's face but Truth disappeared. With the spector's exit an eerie silence filled the empty space and Al let out a huff of air.

Then he stopped.

And did it again.

Then again.

He was breathing. There was air entering his lungs, real lungs. Real lungs that were stripping the air around him of their oxygen and transporting it to the living tissue by way of his red blood cells. He could feel his ribcage expanding to make room for the filling air sacs.

He placed one of his frail hands on his chest. Each rib was pronounced and easy to feel. Feel. He could feel the weight of his hand, the warmth of the flesh. He could feel the dips and curves of his skin. There was a slight tingle as he lifted it away from his skin again. Pressure as he put it back down, then the most staggering part of all.

His heart was beating.

It was there, beating. He could feel it; pumping blood through his veins. Thump, thump. It was proof that he was alive. The beat was strong, despite the years of malnourishment. A slight smile graced his lips: she was right.

"_I just realized something, Alphonse." Al looked up at the small Xingese girl who was dropping her ribboned kunai into the snow. "You don't have a heartbeat, do you?" He dropped his soul-fire eyes to the icy ground. _

"_No, I don't." He wished he could have felt the small hand she placed on his thigh. _

"_That's okay. You don't need a heartbeat to prove you're alive. I already know you have a heart. It's the biggest one I've ever seen."_

"_But Mei, you can't see people's hearts." She frowned at him._

"_Yes you can. Mr. Scar has a big heart too, but his is scarred. Mr. Yoki's heart is smaller, but I would bet anything that it will get better soon. Edward tries to hide his heart but it's big too. Yours the biggest though. Just wait until you get your body back and you feel your heart. It'll be big and strong, just like I said."_

It surprised him when he felt the feeling of water on his check. Reflexively, he looked up but there was no water dripping from above. When more moisture joined his face, Al came to the sudden realization that the water was leaking from his own eyes. He was crying.

His laugh echoed through the emptiness. For years he had longed for the ability to cry and now he had it; he was crying. Tears of happiness, the only kind his brother's tolerated.

"I'm crying," he muttered to himself. The feeling of his tongue flopping around in his mouth was so funny he had to laugh again. "And now I'm laughing. I can smile!" he proclaimed, doing exactly that. Smiling had been something he had missed the most.

"Yo," the voice he had thought was gone barked. Sure enough the white figure was back, quickly morphing from a small ball into a humanoid shape. "Hush up. Your brother's coming."

_Brother? Already?_ Al thought to himself. _That was really fast, I hope he isn't about to do something rash. _Then he remembered who he was thinking about. _I hope he doesn't do anything _too_ rash._

The large door behind Truth opened slowly and light seeped through. Al couldn't see his brother but he could feel it, as if an important figure had just entered the room.

"You're here to bring your brother back, are you?" Truth's mocking voice called out. "But how are you going to pull a whole person out of here? What price will you pay? Will you offer your body?" _Please no, Brother. Please don't._

"I've got your price right here," Ed's voice said assuredly. "This huge thing." _Did he bring a Philosopher's Stone?_ Al thought worriedly for a moment. "This is my gateway of truth which means, it's up to me how I use it. Am I wrong?"

_His Gateway? But wouldn't that mean…_ Truth started laughing and Al could see him place and hand on his face.

"So this is what it comes to? Are you sure about this? If you lose your gateway, you'll never be able to use alchemy again."

"It's true, beyond this gateway lies everything I know about alchemy. However, I've been manipulated because of it. After having been shown the so-called truth, I was convinced that I could solve everything with alchemy. But I was wrong. That was just arrogance," Ed answered.

"You would lower yourself to become just a normal person, unable to use alchemy?"

"Lower myself nothing. I've been just a person from the start. An insignificant human, who couldn't save a little girl who had been made into a chimera." Suddenly Al understood was Ed was doing in its entirety. He wasn't giving up alchemy as a sacrifice for his brother, he was giving it up because he knew better now. Alchemy had led them both astray, and though alchemy had led them to where they were today, they never would of have to be there without it. It was because of alchemy that millions of people had almost died; that millions had died. The double bladed sword; deconstruction and reconstruction.

Brother…

"You're sure you'll be okay without it?" Truth asked. Al waited for the answer. Would Ed really be okay without it? He understood why he was doing it, but would he be able to carry through? Alchemy had been a big part of them both since they were extremely young. Ed paused before proclaiming loudly

"Even without alchemy, I still have them!" This seemed to please Truth immensely.

"That is the right answer, alchemist! You have beaten me. Take it with you." He reached out his arms and Al could hear the sound of clapping and the door in front of Truth began to break apart and dissipate. "All of it!" Now Truth himself was starting to break apart. "The back door is over there. Goodbye, Edward Elric."

Now Al could see Ed. He was walking towards him with a smile on his face and Al could feel his lips making one as well. Ed looked about the same as when he left but with the addition of a flesh arm of his own where his automail had been for so long and a bloody mass of tissue where the peg had pieced through his left arm. Al tried to stand up and soon he felt (FELT!) Ed's arms supporting him.

"That was a crazy thing to do" Ed said when Al looked up at his face. He smiled and laughed a little.

"You too, Brother." The door opened slowly and bright light poured onto both of their faces.

"Now, let's go home. Together."

The light surrounded them and the next thing Al was aware of he was lying on the ground. It was warm. There was the smell of ash and blood everywhere. Something heavy and warm was on top of him. It must be someone's coat. _Good thing too,_ Al thought_. I wouldn't want to be seen without it covering me_.

"Oh, he's coming around," a voice he recognized as Zampano's say excitedly. He opened his eyes further and saw a large gathering a people surrounding him.

"Are you all right, Alphonse?" Darius asked.

"Mr. Zampano… Mr. Darius… all of you…" Al said in wonder, looking around at those assembled. "Dad," Honenheim smiled and held out his hand.

"Yo. Welcome back." Al sat up, Ed helping with a hand on him back and he reached out to grab his father's hand. It was wonderful to be able to feel his father's hand. He hadn't felt a father's touch since he was one, even though he had talked to him before.

"Mm-hmm, I'm home. It's so warm." He looked around briefly but he couldn't see her. Where was M—

"Al…" Suddenly there was black head in his face and two pink wrapped arms were around his thin neck. "Alphonse!"

"Mei!"

"I was… I was…" she stuttered through the tears that were streaming down her face. Al realized what she was trying to say and his face softened.

"Oh, right, sorry. That was a hard thing to put you through. Thanks, Mei." Al tightened his own thin arms around her and held her as tight as his weak muscles could. The fabric of her clothing was tickling him and he could feel her tears on his skin. Without even recognizing what he was doing, he lowered his head to hers and breathed in deeply through his nose.

There hadn't been too much to smell with Truth, except his own body which was not something pleasant. With his return to the battlefield the only thing he could smell was blood and destruction. Her hair though, it was the first thing he smelled that smelt sweet.

He could tell she hadn't had the opportunity to wash it in a few days because he could smell the oils and blood in her hair. However, he could also smell the fragrance of a clean small animal, probably Xiao Mei, and the air of some foreign spice. There was something innocent about the smell, like she had been washing her hair in some small creek.

"Mei," he muttered. She sniffled a few times and looked up. "I'm sorry."

* * *

><p>"Mei! Get off me!"<p>

"Sorry, Alphonse. I can't."

"I think you're fully capable of removing your knee from my spleen though!"

"Actually, no I can't. Ling's on top of me."

"So that's why you're so heavy. Ling weighs as much of both of us together."

"Are you calling the Emperor fat, Al?"

"No, I'm saying you eat more than Gluttony."

"… not true!"

"Very true, actually."

"Shut up Chang."

Al fervently prayed that no one else was around to witness this royal spectacle. Somehow, he wasn't even sure how, he had ended up in a tangled mess with the Princess and Emperor if Xing on the floor of Ling's private dinning chambers. Mei's knee was in his spleen, the weight of both royal figures was squishing his ribcage, Ling's foot kept intercepting with his side as he struggled to get up, and Mei's elbow was pressed into his shoulder. The only good point was the mass of black hair tickling his nose.

It smelled exactly like he remembered it.

Minus the blood.


	18. Birthday Time

"You're Majesty! There is good news!" His Majesty, Emperor Feng Xing sighed and turned away from the mass of charts in front of him. The man who had come running into his room was only vaguely familiar, but the guards had let him enter which meant he was worth listening to. Even though the Emperor had no intention of listening for very long.

"You may speak."

"Your 37th wife, Fei Chang, has just given birth! The child is to be your 17th daughter!" he said after a few deep breaths. He must have run a while to get here because even now he was having trouble catching his breath. The Emperor simply nodded and returned his attention to the charts. The man stood there awkwardly and cleared his throat.

"Don't you wish to see your child, You—"

"Is she pretty?"

"Excuse me, Emperor?"

"Is the child pretty? Yes or no."

"She is beautiful, sire," the man answered after his initial confusion. "Just like her mother, there will be no finer flower in all of Xing."

"Then it will be easy to marry her off to some foreign Prince when she is older. I don't need to see her." One again, the Emperor turned his back and lost interest in the man behind him. When the door closed behind him, the Emperor shook his head in disbelief. He wouldn't go and see the daughter; he most likely wouldn't even see her when he was required to attend a feast celebrating her birth at the Chang clan.

Besides, Changs didn't matter. Not really. Marrying the child off would probably be the only use he got from her. If she had been a son, he might have paid her some attention, but she wasn't. She wouldn't amount to much, if anything.

* * *

><p>"Princess, I need you to tell me now."<p>

The Chang heiress just shook her head adamantly.

"Princess. Tell me who broke the vase." Once again the maid was only given a shake of the head in reply.

"Please, Princess," she tried. It usually took hours to wheedle anything out Princess Mei as well as a wide variety of methods. Begging didn't usually work, but it did sometimes. "I can't possibly do my job if you don't tell me who broke it. I beg of you."

Mei merely shook her head again.

"If you don't tell me, I will make sure you don't get to eat your Birthday Feast!" Threatening was usually the most effective method, but it was hard to threaten a Princess and not feel repercussions. Taking away food, especially a feast like her Birthday Feast, was the safest way to go.

This time it worked, because Mie gasped and started shaking her head faster.

"No! My feast!"

"Tell me who did it, Princess."

The Princess wrapped her arms tighter around the stuffed dragon that she had chosen as her present that morning. Her face turned red as she fought internally about whether she should answer or not. Finally he desire for food won out.

"It was Rou!" The maid nodded and put her hands on her hips.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"Because he told me I wasn't allowed to because he was older."

"Princess, I want to you listen to me and remember what I say, okay." The Chang heiress nodded. "You are an Imperial Princess of Xing. Your mother is the daughter of the Leader of the Chang Clan and your father is The Imperial Emperor of Xing, Feng Xing, Son of the Morning. Only your father has a higher status than you and no one, no one, can tell you what to do."

"You mean I don't have to take a bath when you tell me to?" Mei asked hopefully.

"No. You have to do what I say, but next time he wants you to do something bad you can tell Rou that, okay?" Mei nodded. "Good, now let's go eat up that feast of yours."

* * *

><p>"It's my birthday today, Xiao Mei," Mei told the small panda that had quickly become her closest compatriot. In the few short months that had passed from the time that Mei had found the panda in the rain, she had nursed her back to health, taught her how to use utensils like every other human, and had made her a part of the family. "I'm turning eight."<p>

Xiao Mei looked up at her 'sister' and Mei smiled.

"Did you know that in Amestris they throw huge parties for birthdays? I remember Mr. Liet saying something about it a few weeks ago. They invite friends over, eat cake, and give presents. I think that sounds like fun, don't you?

"Not that I don't like what we do here. Grandfather always tells the servants to take me out to the market and get whatever I want. Sometimes Father will even send a dress or a brush. He always gets me pretty things, but I don't think he actually gets them himself. People have shown me his handwriting before and the notes he send never look like that.

"The Birthday Feast is always fun, though. I imagine that's almost like eating cake at an Amestrian birthday, don't you?" The panda nodded enthusiastically.

"Come on. You get to sit right next to me for the feast." As Mei walked into the room, she passed several servants who all wished her a joyful birthday. When she sat down at the table and saw the sheer amount of dishes prepared for her, she thought to herself that maybe she didn't need a party or a cake.

But it couldn't hurt.

* * *

><p>"You have to move it idiot girl! You can't just feel the energy, you have to move it! If you can't do that then get out of my house!"<p>

Mei bowed under her teacher's anger. She reached up and wiped the sweat on her forehead off with a dirty hand. She had been struggling with remote transmutation for the past few days and Master Hishu was losing patience.

"I'm sorry Master," she told him. "I have no intentions to leave."

"Good. I have no time for a lazy apprentice." he said angrily. "now get ready for dinner."  
>Sighing heavily, Mei dragged her tired body up and to her small room. What a birthday.<p>

"Xioa Mei, do you think we made the right decision by coming here? I mean I can't seem to get anything right!"

The panda began the chatter adamantly and Mei smiled.

No I guess you're right. We've come too far now to go back." Xiao Mei nodded. Changing out of her training clothes, Mei quickly got ready for the dinner. Normally dinner at Masters was a somber affair that would make anyone depressed. She wasn't sure if he knew about her birthday, but After their lessons today, she would be lucky to get fed let alone any sort of birthday celebration. But she had to attend whether she was getting food or not.

When she arrived in the small room that served for mealtimes, however, she found he Masters wife waiting there with a wide smile.

"Happy Birthday princess Chang. We can't really compare with anything you are probably used to, but we can't very well ignore it." Mei stared amazedly at Mistress Hishu. The woman had always been kind to her but this was the first time she showed any mother like inclinations. Mei realized she didn't even know if her master had any children.

"Come on girl," Master Hishu growled from inside the room. "She's been cooking all day and it smells too good to sit around and not eat."

Laughing, the two women joined the man at the table and served the meal. It was the first meal that Mei had actually enjoyed at the household. They laughed together and the owners of the house actually allowed Xioa Mei to sit at the table with them. Normally she was forced to eat the leftovers Mei sneaked her.

So far it was the best birthday she had ever had.

* * *

><p>She almost hadn't recognized the day. In fact, if they hadn't overheard two men arguing over expiration dates, she wouldn't have. Even then, it took her until they had gotten a meal from a generous family and were camping outside of town that the full implications of the date hit her.<p>

Mei had turned twelve today.

The thought almost made her giggle. Almost every year at her birthday she would have to tell herself at least thirty times every day that "You aren't eight anymore, Mei. You're nine now." It always seemed so foreign to her, taking at least a month for her to feel that old. This year however, saying that she was twelve made her feel too young. Surely she must be an old woman with wrinkles and sore old bones. At the very least she would be old enough to be taken seriously as an adult. There was no way that she was only twelve today.

"Hey Princess," Envy called from his jar. Normally Princess was supposed to be a sign of respect and honor. The homunculus always managed to make is sound like and insult though. "Can you go any faster? At this rate I'll have died of old age by the time the Promised Day comes and Father won't give you anything!"

Not for the first time, Mei had misgivings about what she was doing. After all, what was to say the homunculus' creator would give her anything? But just like the other times, she squashed the uncertainty and ignored it. It had to be done, so done it would be.

Envy continued to complain, but Mei effectively tuned him out. Where would she be right now if she had never chosen to follow her half-brother to this country? Probably at home in Xianxun curled up by the fire, reading a new book or just listening to the daily gossip. Xiao Mei would be laying on her shoulder, not watching a homunculus rage in a glass jar. But then again, Mr. Scar, Mr. Yoki, and Doctor Marcoh would probably be a captive of the homunculus right now; they could even be dead.

Besides, she never would have met Alphonse Elric if she had never left Xing.

So maybe it wasn't absolutely horrible that she was in this country. Today still wouldn't make her top five best birthday's though.

* * *

><p>"Ling this is all your fault isn't it?" Mei questioned her older brother. The Emperor feigned innocence.<p>

"What are you talking about, darling younger sister? Is it suddenly a crime to make a big deal of my favorite sister's birthday? If it is, I seriously need to change that law. It should not be."

"Ling."

"Yes Mei?"

"What on earth gave you the impression that I wanted you to throw a giant party for the _entire_ capital city?" she said in a dangerously low voice. While this would scare most people, Ling smile only grew.

"Well you said no one ever made a big deal about your birthday, I wanted you to experience it! Everyone except the people who had to do jobs that are necessary for essential living have the day off! They all love you!"

"Ling, I don't want a huge birthday party! I actually like not having to say thank you to every single servant I pass in the hall!"

"So don't say thank you," Ling said simply as if that solved the entire problem.

"Unlike some pigs raised in the Yao clan, I was raised to express appreciation when people offer me well wishes. I can't just ignore them."

"Well, Mei, I'm sorry. I didn't think you would hate it this much. It's too late to not go through with it now, though so I would suggest just going with it."

Glaring at the Emperor—which was technically a punishable offence, although Ling would never actually punish her for something like that— Mei exited the private council room. She she closed the door behind her she heard he brother call out,

"Oh, and Happy Birthday Mei, darling!"

* * *

><p>When Mei woke up that morning, she had expected nothing terribly out of the normal. Every time she had seen him, Mei had made Ling promise not to do anything extensive for her birthday. All she wanted was to spend a day pursuing her own interests with maybe some special dinner to end it.<p>

She was not expecting to be intercepted almost the instant she walked out of the door by a smiling Amestrian.

"Happy Birthday Mei!"

"Wha- Alphonse, I—"

"You didn't think I would let it pass, did you?" he asked, with a twinkle in his eyes. "Not after you gave me that amazing present for mine. Don't even think about getting out of this."

"How did you even know?"

"Ling told me ages ago. I've been trying to figure out what to get for you for months."

"Alphonse, you really didn't have to get me anything," Mei said blushing. He just shook his head in reply.

"Yes I did. And Winry even got you something. Well, not really. When we in Resembool, I asked her if she had any advice about what to get you and she told me to give you this," he said, handing are a soft wrapped package. "You can open it now, but you're not allowed to open mine," he handed her a small box, "until later."

Mei, blushing, opened the package from Winry and found the dress she had worn at the wedding two weeks ago. It really was a beautiful dress and Mei was truly touched that Winry had given it to her.

"She said you looked too beautiful in it to not give it to you," Al said, smiling. Mei did likewise.

"Please tell her I appreciate it." Al nodded. Then he grabbed her hand and pulled her down the hall.

"I made sure that the cooks made a special breakfast, but I didn't make a big deal of it; I promise. I just made a special request for your favorite foods. After that we have to go to the…"

Mei allowed herself to be dragged around for a good portion of the rest of the day. Al had apparently made it is goal to give her the best birthday ever, because he had made every effort to make sure everything went her way. Ling showed up every one in a while to join them but he always got pulled away.

They spent the whole day doing that. Visiting her favorite places in the market, eating her favorite foods, and the like. Al was careful not to be pushy though. When she got tired or needed to stop he would find the closest seat and they would talk until they felt like getting up again.

When they were both too tired to go on further, they returned to the palace where Ling they had a delicious dinner. Afterward they returned to Mei's room where Ling and Lan Fan showed up with a small wrapped package. Inside was a set of new _kunais_ which she thanked them for. Then she reached for Al's package and tore open the wrapping.

Inside was a pendant on a thin chain. It was made up of half of a silver star resting inside a semi-circle. She stared, confused, at him until he pulled a matching necklace from under the collar of his own shirt.

"When you put them together it makes a star in a circle. It's not exactly an alkahestric array, but it's the closest I could find. If you don't want to wear it I understand, but…" he trailed off uncertainly.

"Alphonse, I love it!" she squealed, engulfing him in a hug. Letting him go and fastening it behind her neck, she smiled at the pendant sitting on her chest. Smiling, Al pulled his out further and touched it to hers, making a perfect circle and star.

"It's amazing how perfect it looks," Al commented. Mei smiled and wrapped her arms around Al again.

"What was that one for?" he asked when she had pulled away. Mei smiled again and tucked the necklace under the collar of her dress.

"For an amazing birthday. Thank you Alphonse."


	19. Food Fight

**This is a very specialy chapter. Do you know why?**

**Of course you don't.**

**This chapter makes my story THE LONGEST SOLELY ALMEI STORY ON ! WHOOHOOOOHOOO! If there is another one out there, the author is a silly person who really should have archived it properly. But yes. The other long story, Possibilities: AlxMei Short Fiction Collection by Amy-Star is only 18 chapters long and this chapter makes 19! Muahahaha.**

**This one might be the slightest bit OOC. I tried really hard to put them in a situation that would make their actions seem natural. And Ling is a 19 year old boy. Boys don't grow up period, so him doing this isn't very out there in my opinion. If you have an older brother, you know what I'm talking about.**

**Al's 18, Mei's 15**

**I don't own FMA**

* * *

><p>"This has got to be breaking some sort of law."<p>

Mei rolled her eyes for what must have been at least the hundredth time.

"Why am I even doing this?"

Even Al, normally so mild tempered and patient was getting annoyed.

"Isn't this someone's job? They should be doing this, not me!"

Xiao Mei, perched on Mei's shoulder as always, covered her ears to block out the whining.

"Can I please go now, Lan Fan?"

"No."

With a heavy sigh, Ling Yao, Son of the Morning, leader of the 50 clans, and current Emperor of Xing dunked his sponge into the bucket and continued to scrub the table. Lan Fan glared at him for a few moments before she was positive he was continuing to work before returning to her own work. The two other occupants, three if you counted Xiao Mei, sighed just as heavily and returned to their own tasks.

"Why do we have to do this again?"

"Because we are bad children and made a mess of your private dinning chambers," Mei said, somewhat sarcastically. "As such, we have to clean up our mess to learn a lesson."

It had started quite innocently, but then again so did a lot of stuff. The past week had been hard on everyone in the palace; a Xanxung emissary had been visiting which had effectively stressed everyone out, there was a minor rebellion going on in the Shitang Providence, and to top it all off there had been an assassination attempt on Ling and Mei. Both Al and Lan Fan had played a big part in foiling said attempt, but it had left both of them thoroughly exhausted and beat up.

To close such a week, Ling decided he needed time to relax and had requested a private dinner in his quarters for the four of them. Nothing extremely fancy, just a well prepared meal to enjoy without the stress of being around other people. The cooks had complied, also tired from the extravagant meals they had had to prepare. It was for this reason that they had originally congregated in Ling's quarters.

"And we're the only ones who are going to be coming, correct?" Mei asked again. She was dressed in a casual outfit similar to the one she wore in Amestris and didn't want to be caught in any event where more formal attire might be required.

"That's what Ling said, and quite honestly I am extremely relieved. I don't think I could stand being around the court for another minute," Al replied. The assassination attempt had left Al injured and tired. Normally being polite came easily to him, but for the past day or so he had had to try really hard not to snap at anyone.

"I know how you feel," Mei muttered under her breath. He smirked at her and she smiled back. When they arrived at the room, Lan Fan opened the door and let them in. Ling quarters were huge and normally occupied by a bed bigger than any human could fit, a sitting area, and a few desks and table covered with maps and statistics papers. Now there was a small dining table placed in the middle with four cushions place around it.

"Come in, before someone realizes where we are," Ling said pushing them inside.

"You didn't get approval for this?" Mei asked once Lan Fan shut the door behind them.

"I told them I wouldn't be eating with them tonight. Do I think they'll let me honor that if they knew where I was? No."

So you see it really was quite innocent in its inception.

That was until Ling accidently put his hand down in the wrong spot and spilled Lan Fan's bowl of rice all over Mei.

The Chang heiress did not take kindly to having rice all over her front. It didn't help that Al was laughing. Very hard. And sense she couldn't retaliate against her brother with his guard there, she threw a dumpling at Al instead. Who threw one back, but was laughing so hard it hit Lan Fan. This was shocked the guard so badly (she was not accustomed to having things actually_ hit _her, especially not a pork dumpling) that she stared at Al for a handful of second. Ling started laughing at the expression on her face and Mei reached into Al's bowl of rice and threw a fist-full at Ling.

"Don't laugh at your girlfriend!"

"She's not my-" he started to protest before a piece of chicken hit him in the face. Ling grabbed a handful of beans and threw it at Al, who had launched the chicken. Mei retaliated by throwing the whole bowl of beans at him which Lan Fan intercepted with her own body, pushing some chicken in her direction.

The food started flying faster as the war progressed. Mei and Al ended up on one side of the room while Ling and Lan Fan were stationed on the other. Not to say they were on the same side all the time. Al fired quite a bit of food in Mei's direction. They were laughing and screaming. Even Lan Fan was cracking a smile as she threw dumplings at the Chang princess.

"Lan Fan," Ling hissed from behind a chair that had once been impressive. Now, covered in delicious and colorful sauces and delicacies, it looked much less so. "We need to crush their resistance! If you go in from the left flank, I can take Mei from the right and then we can ransom her for Al."

"How will that help? The Princess will fight tooth and nail to get him back!" Lan Fan hissed from her position behind a different chair. Before the dinner had begun, Ling had insisted on Lan Fan taking off her mask, but she wore the rest of her normal garb. The only difference was the orange stain on her once black outfit and the rice in her hair. Her face was likewise painted.

"Yes, but then while she's trying to get him from me, you can take her! And how come you keep getting hit? What if this food was explosive? It could kill and here you are getting hit!" Lan Fan turned red.

"It seems food is more of a threat in terms of avoidance than normal projectiles," she muttered. "And why on earth would the Princess and Alphonse launch explosive food at us?"

"I wouldn't put it past Chang. An innocent food fight gone wrong and she ends up Empress. Don't underestimate her genius Lan Fan!"

"Don't overestimate it either," Lan Fan muttered, pitching a pork dumpling towards the bed where Al was hiding.

"Al!" Mei hissed on the other side of the room. The Amestrian turned towards her with a handful of… she didn't even know what it was before it had started getting thrown around. He shot a confused look at her before shooting the handful of mash at the other side of the room where it splatted against the wall.

"We need to work together to squish these guys!"

"Why?"

"Because you can bet that they're going to be working together and that they're going to have a plan to—"

"Mei, look out!" Then Lan Fan tackled Mei around the legs and Ling was wrapping her arms around her back.

"Back off, Amestrain or the Princess gets it!" he shouted, spinning her around so she faced Al. However when Al collapsed from laughing too hard, Ling, laughing almost too hard to breathe, called a cease fire. It was then that they looked around and realized the full extent of their battle. Quite frankly the room was... ruined. There was food all over the place, smashed into the carpet, sticking to the walls, and making stains on the furniture.

"Oops," Mei giggled. She pulled free of Ling's hold and smacked him lightly on the shoulder. "That's for trying to hold my hostage."

"We're probably going to have to clean this up, huh?" Al said, grimacing.

"Young Lord I apologize. I shouldn't have let this get so out of hand-" Lan Fan tried to apologize before Ling cut her off firmly.

"Oh nonsense. This is as much my fault as yours."

"But Young Lord, it is my duty to protect you and make sure that things stay under control. I have failed to do this."

"Lan Fan, if you think I'm going to punish you for having a little bit of fun that I myself was participating in, you're wrong."

"With all respect Young Lord, it is not my duty to have fun. It is my duty to pro—"

"Oh be quiet will you?" Mei said, picking some rice out of her hair. "He's not going to punish you if that's what you're looking for. If anything you protected him for the spicy sausage I almost got him with."

Lan Fan blushed slightly and Ling patted her on the back.

"Exactly. Now… uh… what are we going to tell the servants?"

As it happened to be, the servants did not take kindly to cleaning up such a mess. In fact, they "did not take kindly" so much, that the head of the household staff told Ling in no uncertain terms that he could fire her, banish her, or even execute her, but she would make everyone to blame for the mess clean up every single morsel of food from the room. She also happened to mention that the room would not be cleaned until they personally cleaned it up.

"Do you think she's joking?" Ling asked when he heard.

"Mistress Jiang never jokes, Young Lord."

"But I'm the Emperor. She can't say that to me!"

"She is the most efficient Head of Servants that has ever taken residence at the palace. Her influence is far and wide and I do not doubt that she will find a way to make sure no servant comes near your quarters until the mess is cleaned by your own hand. I would suggest doing it. I, Alphonse, and the Princess will be assisting."

"But there are only four of us!"

"Then it would be best if we start soon."

"… you are so Fu's granddaughter."

"Thank you, Young Lord."

* * *

><p><strong>I would wish you all a Happy Easter... but I'm posting really late and it's already the 9th here... so um... Happy April 9 2012! Enjoy this day while you can, it'll never come again.<strong>


	20. I Got It!

**I have been avoiding writing this one for a while. Cause this one means I'm going to actually have to write chronologically for a bit! How horrible. But at least that means the next chapter is going to be fun. Sorry if my description of the actual transmutations themselves seem a little off. It was kinda necessary for the sense of hopelessness and despair I had to sow. Okay, that's a bit of an exaggeration. **

**And in there's this one part that seems random where there' only dialogue. I just want you to know that they are trying to relax so it's supposed to look off-kilter with the rest of the chapter. It was fun to write though.**

**Al is 18 Mei is almost 16 but not quite there. After Kitty and before Setting Up LingFan**

**Can anyone recognize the Harry Potter reference in this one?**

* * *

><p>Such a cursed piece of paper. It sat there on the desk. Mocking him. Taunting in. Irking him. Generally making his like horrible. Okay, so that might be a bit of an exaggeration, but it was not pleasant because of that paper. Maybe a little, but mostly it was all bad. Except for the good parts.<p>

Al's Schedule for March 4 1919

5:30 Wake up

_Whooohooo. Cause I just LOVE getting up early._

5:40 Meet Mei outside for meditation outside

7:30 Return to palace

8:00 Breakfast

_That was pretty good at least_

8:30 "Free time"

_Meaning tying to finish the books I had to read but couldn't because I was so tired._

10:00 Meet Mei for spar

_It ended inconclusively for the third time in a row. We're pretty much even for wins and losses._

11:30 Early lunch

12:30 Make the hour hike to the mountains

1:45 Remote Transmutation

Al groaned as he looked at the list. He had already gone through half of the day's activities and he was already ready to go to sleep again. When he got his body back, he obviously knew that getting tired would be part of the arrangement. He was prepared for it, but when it did hit he almost wished he could have his old body back. Almost.

He didn't know how Ed had done it all the time, especially not with automail leeching energy off his body. All the fighting, training, and travelling must have taken their toll. No wonder he had always been sleeping and eating.

"Alphonse! It's time to go!" Mei's cheerful voice called out for the hallway outside his door. He winced slightly and got to his feet. The hike itself wasn't bad—he had been making it every other day for a good number of months now—but it was what they were doing on top of the mountain that made him want to curl up in his bed.

Remote transmutation was not going well. His New Year's resolution _last year_ was still uncompleted. In that time he actually had managed to pick of the traces of life all around him. It was quite the experience, to feel the flow of life. He still had to chuckle to himself when he had finally realized what he had been doing wrong. Mei had great cause to be frustrated trying to teach him.

The whole time he had been thinking of _qi_ as some super-natural force that he had to force his mind to somehow pick up and detect. In a Yock-Island-like epiphany, he had realized that if it really was the flow of life, that just by being alive he was connected to it. That meant that ever since his birth he had been connected to everything around him (perhaps with the exception of "The Armor Days"). So why on earth was he trying to reach for some magical power when it was the simple feeling of being alive with everything around him?

After that he had quickly picked it up and Mei had assured him that it wouldn't be long before he was just as proficient in alkahestry as he was in alchemy. He had attacked the magical science with new vigor, ready for all it had to throw at him.

That was two months ago.

He still hadn't gotten it.

He had gotten close some times—the blue lighting had made it outside the circle and had managed to make it half way to the other marker before it seemed to lose enthusiasm—but every time it seemed to die. Even Mei couldn't seem to understand what he was doing wrong. She had toyed with the idea of getting her old master to try to figure it out, but as the man lived at least two weeks away by train and much further by carriage or even car, they had decided against it.

"Alphonse, hurry up! The mountain's not going to lower itself to our level, you know!"

Sighing, Al stood up and shot the schedule one last evil look. "Coming, Mei!

* * *

><p>It was dark on top of the mountain. Not a lot of light filtered through the branches. Most of the light illuminating the two people was coming from a carefully drawn encircled pentagon. One of them was crouched over said circle and the other sat on a large rock nearby watching hopefully. The one on the rock looked like she rather like to shout something like "Come on, you can do it!" but was restraining herself.<p>

The light intensified and started crackling and shoots started reaching out. In a matter of seconds it reached over to where the second circle and pentagon sat, surrounded with five marked knives. It made it about three fourths of the way before fizzling out and dying. There was silence in the air surrounding them.

"You were so close that time Alphonse, if you just—"

"It's okay Mei," Al sighed. "You don't have to encourage me every single time I fail."

"You're not failing," Mei said adamantly, brow furrowing and crossing her arms. "It's only failing if you give up. You are not giving up. I will not let you. And if you need more incentive think about what would have happened if you had given up on trying to find the Philosopher's Stone. Not only would you not have your bodies, but your entire country would be living inside Father."

"I know Mei," he said weakly. "I'm not about to give up, but you can't really blame me for being disheartened."

"No I guess I can't begrudge you that," she said, sighing. Fingering the end of her braid—she was trying out a different design than usual, only one braid instead of two or six—she stared at the ground. "You are taking five deep breaths before you activate it, correct?"

"Yes I am, but what is it even for?"

"They're training wheels, so to speak. Five is the perfect number in alkahestry. Five breaths put you in the right mood. And you're making sure to stay in connection with the_ qi_ around you, right?"

"Yup."

"Normally if someone was having trouble with activating the array and they're not having trouble with qi I would say it's the activation itself that's wrong. But that's obviously not the case with you. You can activate is easily, it just never seems to last. I honestly have no idea what's wrong."

Al dropped his head into his hands before lifting it out quickly and started spitting. Mei stared at him in shock before he grimaced.

"Dirt on my hands, dirt in my face and mouth." Mei had to snicker and Al started laughing soon after. When they were done laughing, Mei stood up and grabbed Al's hand. He stared at her oddly but she just shook her head and led him through the trees.

They walked for a few minutes until they came to a clearing. It was bigger than the one they had just left with an almost perfect circle for a perimeter. The sun was visible, making its path across the sky. Even though he wasn't highly skilled at telling time from the sun, he could tell that from when they started working a little after 1:30, almost an hour or more had passed.

"Sit down," Mei commanded. Once he had, Mei sat down in front of him and tilted her head back. "You need to relax. Can you see anything in the clouds?"

"You want to pick out shapes in the clouds?"

"Yeah, pretty much. Can you think of anything else more relaxing we can do on the top of a mountain?"

"Well, no. Not really," he answered, tipping his head back as well. "There's a snake."

"That it not a snake! It way too fat to be a snake."

"Well what would you say it is?"

"A dragon."

"That doesn't look like a dragon to me. Dragons are much more—Oh look! A kitten!"

"Eh, she's not as cute as An. Over there's a dolphin."

"More like a tiger."

"How does that look like a tiger? It's much to round."

"The tiger could be arched. I've seen plenty of cats do that when they stretch."

"Small cats. If you tell me that you've seen a tiger I'll tell you to eat my shoe."

"… I don't want to eat a shoe. Speaking of shoes, there's a high heel."

"You mean an evil torture device."

"Evil torture device…?"

"Have you ever worn them?"

"No, I can't say I have."

"Then you have no idea what you're talking about. They were created by men to incapacitate and torture women all the while making them smile and act nice. Don't even try to argue, I know at least fifteen women who could sign an affidavit swearing to the same thing right now."

"Name them."

"Lan Fan—"

"She's had to wear high heels before?"

"It was a very special occasion and apparently the really skinny heels are good for driving into attacker's eye sockets. Anyways, Lan Fan, there's no doubt in my mind that Miss Hawkeye would sign, all four of my cousins, Winry, Gracia, Tai Lee and that friend of hers, your teacher, the servant who does my hair Hui and her daughter Ai, Wei Yan from back home, and you can't forget Aya, and of course I would be signing as well."

"That's sixteen."

"Sixteen would be signing then."

"What a coincidence, I just counted sixteen clouds that I can't give a shape to."

"And here I thought you had a lot of imagination."

"If it makes you feel better I can say there are sixteen pieces of popcorn in the sky."

"Slightly."

"That's what Ed always used to say. Whenever I tried to get him to play this game, even if the clouds literally wrote out DIE EDWARD DIE he would say it looked like popcorn or marshmallows."

"I can see Ed doing that. No imagination."

"Say that again after he starts running ideas about how to keep other men away from Winry past you. He has plenty of imagination."

"I am going to forget that."

"Probably a wise choice. Actually no, you should probably remember that. It could save your life."

"I'll keep that in mind then."

"Good."

They fell into silence again and started staring at the sky. There was a fast wind blowing and the clouds were getting blown away almost as fast as they appeared from the opposite direction. A few moments passed until Mei stood up and brushed the dirt off her pants.

"You're going try a few more times and then we're going down, okay?" Al nodded and stood up as well. Mei led him back through the trees to the same area they were in. The circles and markers were still perfectly in place. Just a few more times.

The first attempt ended much like the other, almost but not quite.

Second ended the same.

Third didn't activate at all.

Before his fourth attempt Mei stopped him and made him draw the circle again.

"You've worn it down, that's why it didn't just activate. Draw it and try it again." She laid a hand on his shoulder as he did so and touched his palms to the array.

The familiar blue lighting shot forward faster than they had before. It travelled directly towards its sister circle and lit it up. The ground inside the circle started to morph and soon there was a small earthen cat curled up in the array.

"Al…"

"I DID IT!" Al yelled, making a flock of birds take off. "Mei! I did it!"

"Al, you did it!" she yelled back just as excited. She hugged him a bit too abruptly and they tumbled into the ground that had recently been the spot of the transmutation. Thankfully they avoided hitting any of the markers and rolled around for a bit. Once they stopped the motion Mei was lying on top of Al and both were grinning hugely.

"I did it!"

"You did it!"

"I did it!" he repeated. Mei laughed and hugged him again. He struggled to sit up with her wrapped around his neck and chest, but he managed to prop himself up with one hand with the other around her.

"This is such a huge breakthrough," Mei said when she pulled away. "Now that you've managed to get remote transmutation the medical aspects of alkahestry is going to be a piece of cake. You've already done a lot of studying on the human body from human transmutation and trying to get Jerso and Zampano their bodies back so you won't even need to learn any of that. With that out of the way, you just need to learn to direct the flow of life in the body just like you did with the earth! Al, I can't believe you did it!"

"I told you I'd get it!" he laughed.

"You did, you told me. But I did think that you could do it too!"

"You told me that enough times," he said playfully, flicking her nose with his finger.

"Al!"

"You know, I really like that."

"What?" Mei asked, cocking her head to the side in confusion.

"You calling me Al. You always call me Alphonse, but you've called me Al at least four times," he said simply. "I wish you'd call me that more often. Alphonse just seems too formal for you to call me all the time."

"Fine," Mei said, giving him her pinky. "I pinky promise to call you Al more often." He looked at her strangely.

"Where on earth did you lean pinky promises?"

"Elicia, at Ed and Winry's wedding."

Smiling and shaking his head, Al linked his pinky with Mei. She smiled back at him and they both chuckled a little.

"Pinky promise."

"Pinky promise," she agreed.

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><p><strong>Don't ever break a pinky promise you make with me. Pinky promises are more serious than an Unbreakable Oath. (second Harry Potter ref-er-ANs today)<strong>


	21. Come With Me

**Hi guys! I was having a bit of computer trouble earlier and I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to get this up in time, but viola, here it is. And it's way past time that I should be asleep on a school night. You pleople are very lucky I'm have standards. I was sevearly tempted to cut it down to under 1000. Today was quite the day for me.**

**Anyways, this first part might be slightly confusing, but it's a conversation between a bunch of random courtiers. **

**This takes place about a week after Setting Up Ling Fan and follows the events of I Got It! which was last week's oneshot.**

**I love you guys. I really do. Thanks so much for reading. Super special thanks if you reveiw.**

**(oh and there's a lot of pure AlMei fluff in here. And also an mini-intro to THE PROBLEM. You know. THE PROBLEM that always keeps people from getting together. You get a taste of it here. Mind, it's not the whole thing, but there is a dosage. So have fun. I have a feeling it will be the main discussion in reviews.)**

**And last week's Harry Potter ref-er-ANs was "DIE EDWARD DIE" from the 5th book after the Divination OWL Ron says "I don't care if my tea leaves spell DIE RON DIE, I'm chucking them in the bin where they belong"**

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><p>"Is there even a point in showing up to court meetings anymore?"<p>

"What on earth do you think they're arguing about in there?"

"It must be big. It's been going on for almost a week."

"I heard it was about the Ambassador."

"Which one?"

"Which one do you think I'm talking about? The one who's been living here for the past two years."

"Why would they be arguing over him?"

"From what I heard, he wants to leave."

"So? Big deal. Send him back to his own country and good riddance."

"No, I heard he wants to leave for the East."

"You don't mean Xiongnu do you? Surely they won't send him there! He knows far too much about the inner workings of the court. What if tells someone something?"

"That's the Elder's position. But you know how the Amestrain has the Emperor eating out of the palm of his hand. It's disgusting . I've known the Emperor since he was a boy and he changed when he came back from Amestris. I think they might have put a spell on him."

"That's ridiculous! Ambassador Elric always seems very kind and polite."

"I heard he's a skilled actor. His brother is a famous figure in their country. Even you must have heard of the Fullmetal Alchemist. He's probably quite skilled at dodging questions and getting what he wants."

"Well none of it matters anyways."

"Why not?"

"Because Princess Chang will never let him leave!"

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><p>Said Princess Chang was indeed trying to figure out a way to stop Alphonse Elric from traveling to the east. Not because she couldn't bear to see him leave, see just knew that leaving would crush his heart and spirit. It was a scary place out there and though he had disillusioned himself into thinking that it would be fun and educational, she knew better. He had to stay. For his own safety of course. Not because she wanted—needed—him to stay. There were friends and she naturally wanted to look out for him. This had nothing to do with that silly little crush she had had on him a few years ago. Of course not. Couldn't be further from the truth.<p>

She was just have the slight problem with actually finding a way to convince him of the fact she knew with utter assuredly. So far her attempts had not been successful. As such, she had had to resort to more… diverse methods.

"Al!" The Amestrian turned to look at her and she put on the largest and most excited smile she could muster as she ran up to him. "Guess what?"

"What?"

"I just learned that I've been teaching you how to do alkahestry all wrong!"

"…what?"

"They just discovered a new way of teaching it that's more efficient and creates better students. I'm extremely sorry Al. This is entirely my fault. But the good thing is, the man who told me, told me how to teach it better. Now I can do it better!"

"Um… that's great Mei. Maybe you'll be able to teach someone else when we're in—"

"Actually, I feel bad because I cheated you by making you wait two years before you could actually preform alkahestry of any worth. So if you wouldn't mind I want to teach you the real way and you'll be proficient in half the time!"

Al stared at her. She smiled back.

"Mei, you've already taught me. Why would I need to learn it again?"

"Efficiency!" she chirped in reply.

"Are you feeling alright?"

"Perfect. Why?"

Instead of replying, Al just walked off, shaking his head.

That had obviously not worked. She mumbled something very un-princess-like under her breath and stomped hard on the ground in frustration. That was much too out of the blue. The acting hadn't been too good either. If she really wanted to stop him from taking his trip, she would need a) a more convincing story and b) better acting skills.

But what could be a more convincing story? She could drag him out to visit her teacher but that would only last a month or so and then it would be over and he would leave. A disaster of some sort would certainly make him stay, but what in earth would she be able to fake? Not much and nothing that would detain him for more than a few days.

There was one idea she had that might work but she didn't want to try it on the off-case it didn't. Even if it did it might cause more hurt than good. Their stunt with Ling and Lan Fan (a pairing Mei had jokingly dubbed LingFan, but it stuck) had made her realize just how much she DID want Al to kiss her. She just didn't know how much of his part had been acting and how much was genuine.

If she did kiss him… would he stay? There was the possibility that he would. They could live happily ever after in a castle, riding white horses. Not literally of course, but things could turn out well if she were to make such a bold move.

Then again, things could go horribly. He could not be interesting in that way. She knew with absolute certainty that she had moved on from her crush in earlier days— but instead of fading away like she would tell other people, it had grown into something much more real to her. He was more than just the mysterious kind man missing a body; he was Al, a friend who would fight through the crowd to get her favorite dumplings or help her out with hair brain schemes to get her brother together with the only woman who would ever be able to make him happy. He was kind, gentle, happy, and loving, but at the same time fiercely protective, mischievous, and all in all Edward's brother. She did not under any circumstances want to ruin that friendship.

Something like kissing him might. If he didn't like her in that way, he might start pulling away or even cut off everything all the way.

And even if he did want that to happen, want for them to be together, what's to stop him from leaving anyways? He was an Elric after all and Edward still left for the West after practically proposing to Winry. True, he did come back a short five and a half months after, but that was still way too long for him to just disappear. Ed and Winry also had the advantage of both being the same age and old enough to be married without too many odd looks. Mei was still only sixteen and though she confessed to being a help-less romantic, she didn't want to get married as early as Winry did. She was nineteen, a few months away from twenty, and already caring for a little boy. No, Mei did not want to do what they did.

And there was always the possibility that a relationship could end in heartbreak. It could be any number of factors that could end it. Small quirks that bugged her that piled up higher and higher, lack of communication, or even a lack of allowance. The Elders or even the people might not be happy with them being together and as much as she would like to say nothing could get between their love, her role as a Princess and his role as an Ambassador required them pay heed to them. If they were forced apart being together might become too painful and cause them to rarely see each other at all.

So, no. Trying to kiss him was definitely not an option. Odds outweighed the small chance of success too much. It would have to be some other scheme.

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><p>She tried a number of other plans, none of which actually worked. Among them were: faking a letter from Ling saying that he couldn't leave, trying to get him involved with researching a deadly disease, and hatching more plans for "LingFan". She tried her biggest yet—trying to convince him that her dear grandfather was in critical condition and she needed his help to get over the shock—when he finally cracked.<p>

"Mei this is the fifth time you've come up with something ridiculous lie! What has you so dead set against me leaving? I thought you wanted to learn more."

"What does me wanting to learn more have to do with you leaving? I'm telling you Grandfather Chang is seriously sick—"

"Mei you were just talking to your grandfather last week over the phone. You were excited because the finally had gotten around to connecting the Chang Providence to the telephones lines here. You haven't gotten any correspondence since. Your grandfather is fine."

"No seriously—"

"What is wrong? Why do you keep doing these things?"

"Because I don't want you to leave!" she shouted finally and turned her back around. She didn't want to see him because she knew she was being ridiculous and that he knew she was being ridiculous.

"Why not?" he yelled back, exasperated.

"Because… because I don't want to lose you," she mumbled barely loud enough for him to hear her. Even though her back was turned away from him, she knew that he was staring at her in confusion. "I know what you're going to say Al, and I know—"

"You mean he didn't tell you?" he asked, surprising her.

"What?"

"Ling. He didn't tell you?"

"What are you talking about?" she asked, turning. "Ling hasn't said anything about you leaving. It's almost most he's been avoiding talking about it."

"Mei, I asked him if you could come with me at least a week ago." Mei stared at him in confusion as the words sank in.

"Go with you? To the East?"

"Yeah. I remember you complaining about being cooped up in the court but slightly bored with home. I know how much you enjoyed learning about Amestrian culture and I thought you might enjoy learning about other cultures as well. You're smart, dedicated, hardworking, beautiful, adventurous, fun to be around and quite frankly I wouldn't want to take any long trip like this without someone I trust by my side."

"Are you serious?" she asked, just to make sure. It seemed too good to be true. Surely there would be some rule that would prevent her from going and she would be stuck in the capital while Al was out there exploring and having fun in the East. She wouldn't actually be allowed to travel with him.

"Completely. Ling said yes and I though he was going to tell—"

He was cut off by a very loud, excited, and high-pitched squeal as she wrapped her arm around him in a very enthusiastic and happy hug.

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><p><strong>So yeah. This is the next big section thingy-ma-bob. Them traveling in the East together.<strong>


	22. I Am Yours As Well

**The author's note is at the bottom. I can give you the spiel after you've read the story when it'll make sense.**

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><p>"Are you sure that's all you're going to need?"<p>

"Yes, I'm sure!" Mei told Al again. They were putting to final touches on their arrangements for leaving and Al seemed flabbergasted by the fact that Mei was planning on only bringing one suitcase. "Al, I spent almost eight months in Amestris and I wore the same outfit the whole time. When you were still in armor, Ed lived three years out of one suitcase. I think I can do the same for half the time."

"No! I wasn't trying to say that you," Al flushed, "wouldn't be able to, I was just thinking that well, you might want to bring a few more comfort items. Entertainment, some nicer outfits maybe—"

"I've got you for entertainment and if we do run into any special occasions I can always pick something up wherever we are. It'd probably be better too," Mei replied without missing a beat. "What I have is fine."

Al shrugged and lifted his own (single) suitcase off the bed and put it near the door. They weren't scheduled to leave for another day or two, but they were going through another luggage check to make sure they really did have everything they needed. Al had often witnessed Ed leaving behind something very important (such as a spare pair of underwear) and suffering without it. He was not going to let that happen now that he had more necessities that just a loincloth and steel cleaner.

He had just dropped off his suitcase and was walking back to discuss their first stop (a point on which they still disagreed), when there was a knock on the door. Al opened it and smiled slightly at the messenger boy staring up at him.

"Yes?"

"His Majesty, the Emperor wishes to see you and Princess Chang in the throne room immediately," the boy told him.

"is there anything else he said?" here the boy bit his lip slightly.

"He did tell me to tell you that you're not allowed to leave on your trip to the East anymore."

Less than five minutes of running later, Al and Mei were bursting into the empty throne room.

"What do you mean we're not allowed to go?" Mei shouted as she stalked up the aisle. Ling, who appeared to have been having an in-depth conversation about something with an unmasked and out of place Lan Fan, looked up and smiled as his two new guests.

"Al and Mei, just the two people I wanted to tell first!"

"What do you mean we're not allowed to go?" Mei repeated in reply. "You agreed that Al and I could travel around in the East, you even cleared it with Fuhrer Grumman! You've been arguing with the Elders about it for a whole week! What do you mean we're not allowed to go?" Though he didn't say anything (Mei had that covered and in a volume Al couldn't have managed), Al stared in accusatory confusion at the Emperor. Ling looked from the two of them and then looked at Lan Fan and smiled wide.

"First off, Chang, I was not arguing with the Elders about you. When I told them I was going to give you permission to go they started cheering and Kangxu suggested we throw a party to celebrate. Second, your trip hasn't been cancelled, it's been postponed. Third—"

"Wait, you haven't been arguing with the Elders about our trip this whole time?" Al interrupted. "It's been going on for weeks now; we haven't had to go to an official court meeting since. What have you been fighting over?"

"Kangxu wanted to throw a party?" Mei said. Ling smirked.

"Yes, he was happy to get rid of you. I personally think we'll miss you. You have a way of adding spice to life, Mei. And I think it would be better if Lan Fan answered your question, Al." He smiled at the woman at his side, who blushed slightly and turned toward the people in front of her master."

"The Young Lord—"

"Ling!" Ling interjected happily.

"Ling," she corrected herself, "has been quite adamantly demanding their acceptance of… our marriage."

The silence seemed to ring in the room for a few seconds. Then the message sunk in and Mei shrieked shrilly and started dancing. Al let out a loud cheer. Ling smiled widely and the corner of Lan Fan's mouth twitched up. With the pretense up, they slipped their hands into each other's.

"Why didn't we hear about this earlier?" Mei accused after finishing her dance.

"I didn't want to say anything until we were sure that it was going to happen. Considering how long it took for me to convince them, I would say it was well worth it. That's what we've been arguing about. They aren't happy about giving in now, but I told them in no uncertain terms that I had no intentions of marrying fifty wives even if the one wasn't Lan Fan. They tried to tell me that I had to follow tradition to keep equality between the clans to which I replied that I had done more for "equality between the clan" than any Emperor before me. It was telling thing that if I was married to a woman I actually love, there was a higher chance of getting heirs faster that won the argument. They aren't happy, but they can deal with it."

Mei squealed again and ran up the short flight of stairs to hug Lan Fan. While she ranted about how much fun it would be to be sisters with the guard, Al shook (manly) hands with Ling until he pulled him into a (once again, very manly) hug.

"Okay, Ling," Al said once he had been released. "Why now? You cannot deny that you've loved her for a while and you've been Emperor for years now. What was holding you back?" Ling took a moment to think before answering:

"I've always known that I loved Lan Fan, but I knew that we couldn't be together. I thought that maybe I could just bury it and it would go away and I wouldn't have to deal with it. This obviously did not work the way I wanted it to and there were moments when it was very obvious exactly how I felt about her—when she cut off her arm, when Knocks was caring for her, when I was fighting Envy, when Greed was making obscene jokes, Fu's death. But even after all that I thought maybe being Emperor would, I don't know, squish it out of me. But two weeks ago, when we kissed… I knew I couldn't live another month without letting the world know that she was mine."

"Everyone's always known that I was yours," Lan Fan muttered quietly.

"Yes," he said, standing up and kissing her on the head, "but now the world knows that I am yours as well." Mei stared at her brother with something akin to surprise.

"Ling… that was actually really sweet."

"Come on Chang, cut me some slack. I did manage to capture the heart of the single most amazing woman in Xing."

"Excuse me?"

"You're a sister, not a woman."

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><p>After two weeks of intense wedding planning and discussion which everyone in the palace was involved in, they were finally ready. Since throwing extravagant weddings for all of the Emperor's wives was frivolous and impractical, usually the Emperor would travel to the clan providence of the wife where there would be a party to celebrate their union. Since this would be his only marriage, many of the court voted for a larger-than-normal wedding. With a few "royal demands" everything they needed was obtained and extra hands were hired to oversee the decorations. Many important figures from the surrounding countries and inside Xing are gathered in the main hall of the palace, which could probably hold the whole of Eastern and Northern Amestrian forces and equipment.<p>

The colors red and gold were everywhere. In previous decades, gold was a color that could be used exclusively by the royals. Though that rule had been relaxed and gold could be seen at everyday weddings, it was still used in ample amounts at the palace. Symbols of wealth and luck littered the walls and ceilings.

In a chamber connected to the main hall, cut off from the hustle and the bustle going on, two girls sat on the floor. They were holding hands and one was muttering soothing words to the other. It would be extremely easy to confuse the two for sisters, but they were in fact the Princess and soon-to-be-Empress.

Mei was dressed in a red silk dress with a few gold patterns tracing their way up the side. Her hair was styled in a crown like braid that had taken the hairdressers almost two full hours to prepare. Someone, she couldn't remember who in the blur of everything going on, had painted the outline of her large eyes with black to make the stand out.

"Everything is going to be fine, Lan Fan," she told her soon-to-be-sister. "Everything's going to be fine. What could go— Never mind. I am not going to finish that sentence because something will."

"How do you know that, Princess?"

"It always happens. Don't you read cliché novels where true love at first sight exists? They always say what could go wrong and something goes wrong."

"So haven't you just jinxed the entire event?"

"No. I stopped myself." Lan Fan chuckled slightly but quickly smothered it. They waited in silence for a few more moments when a gong rang out. The gong in question was colossal and could easily be heard across the entire city. The citizens that could not participate nor be a part of the wedding would be standing in the streets listening to the gong, waiting for the nine chimes that would signify their official marriage.

"Everyone's settling down," Mei said and stood up. She helped Lan Fan to her feet and guided her to the door where an attendant was waiting. "You'll be fine. I have to accompany Ling, and let me tell you, his jaw will drop when he sees you." There was a bob of the head and Mei hurried off down the hall so she could reach the door where Ling would be entering the hall. As the current heir to the throne should something happen to her brother, she would follow the Emperor into the hall to meet his bride.

"What took you so long?" he asked jokingly when she ran around the corner. He was dressed in a red tunic and pants that matched what Mei was wearing but with a far greater gold accents. His traced all over the cloth. Normally in court he had his hair all the way pulled back but today he wore it in a style similar to how he wore it in Amestris.

"I was making sure your fiancée didn't throw up," she replied before taking her place behind him.

"In that case, thank you," he said as the doors swung open.

In front of them spanned the entire main hall as well as almost every important figure in Xing. Al was situated near the front, as the most important Ambassador present. Many of the other country's representatives weren't happy about that, but most were mollified when the learned that Mustang was shoved in the corner where he could barely see anything. Ling's apology: "I'm sorry General Mustang, Ed pays really well."

Ling took one measured step into the hall in step with the music that started playing. After nine steps the doors on the other side of the hall opened. Two men, both uncles to Lan Fan, who were filling in for the position as Lan Fan's father and grandfather walked in first. Situated behind them and a few paces back was Lan Fan.

Correct to Mei's prediction, Ling's jaw dropped.

Lan Fan was almost unrecognizable. She was dressed in a long red dress that accentuated the shape she usually took such pains to cover. Gold streaked up the entire dress, until it met in the image of a phoenix flying from one hip to the opposite shoulder. Her hair had been washed three times that day, each time with a different perfume and had been delicately placed in an intensely complicated hairdo. As per usual, the woman who had styled her hair would not want for a job the rest of her life. Resting on her head was a simple circlet with another phoenix forming the tip.

Lan Fan's face was clear of any and all of the blemishes earned over her many years of serving as Ling's guard. Her lips had been painted bright red and her eyes had been lined in a similar fashion to Mei's. Her deep brown eyes, which were almost always trying to capture everything at once, were focused only Ling. His eyes were likewise focused.

When she reached the middle of the aisle where Ling was waiting, the men walking in front of her bowed and Ling bowed back. Then the uncle who had been closest in age to Lan Fan's father placed her hand in Ling's, and then they both turned around and walked the other direction. Mei stepped out from behind Ling and kissed their conjoined hands then stepped back and followed them as they started their journey down the perpendicular aisle.

When they reached the end of the hall (by no means a short trip), both of them kneeled in front of a small alter as a man read them the history and rights of marriage. After that they drank from two goblets connected by a singled red ribbon. The same man who had read to them removed the simple circlet from Lan Fan's head and placed a much large and elaborate crown on instead.

Ling helped his new wife to her feet and faced the rest of the crowd. Mei bowed low, and the rest of the congregation did likewise. Nine gongs rang out across the city and a loud cheer was heard from the streets outside the palace. As soon as the cheering had died out and the crowd had all straightened, Ling nodded regally and, smiling, addressed the crowd.

"If you will, there is a feast arranged to celebrate our union and the ascension of your new Empress. Please leave the room and return in a number of minutes." Cheering, the crowd started streaming towards the doors. Al fought past a few people to where Mei was fighting towards him.

"That was incredible!" he said as soon as he was reassured she could hear him. "I thought the whole ritual was completely amazing! I don't care who, when, or where, I want to have some of those customs incorporated into my wedding."

"Really? I thought your way of doing it was absolutely charming. I want to have some of your custom in my wedding. Especially the kiss at the end. I'm surprised that Ling didn't do it the moment she had been crowned Empress." Al chuckled.

"I half expected him to do it too. But I guess he does follow the rules sometimes." Mei smiled and looked around before starting to laugh.

"Or not."

Behind them, probably thinking no one was paying attention, Ling and Lan Fan were connected quite firmly by the lips. His arms were wrapped around her waist and hers around his neck.

"I think that's the happiest I've ever seen them," Mei commented quietly enough so that they wouldn't interrupt.

"Yeah," Al said, almost wishing, hoping, praying, wanting her to look up and see the look he was giving her. At the same time, dreading that she would. And she didn't. Instead he grabbed her hand gently pulled her out of the room.

"Come on. Let's leave the lovebirds alone. It is their wedding night."

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><p><strong>This one was so much fun to write! I absolutely loved it. 1) I actually really love LingFan, I've just never taken the time to write something for them unless it's heavily laced with AlMei. Been wanting to for a very long time, but haven't. So writing this was a lot of fun, especially the fluffy part at the beginning. I believe with all my heart that the "<strong>_I knew I couldn't live another month without letting the world know that she was mine."_

"_Everyone's always known that I was yours," Lan Fan muttered quietly._

"_Yes," he said, standing up and kissing her on the head, "but now the world knows that I am yours as well."_"** was INSPIRED. **

**2) The wedding was also a LOT of fun to write. I had a lot of fun combining actual Chinese traditions with my own imagination and Lady Norbert's imagination. The wedding did not come from her, but she was my inspiration to go crazy with the creative license part of the wedding. What did you guys think? Good? Bad? Crazy? Out there? Amazing? What you imagined? Further than huha? Please tell me.**

**Oh and apparently I'm allergic to bee stings. I typed this entire thing with a pointer finger twice the size it should be. That was fun. (in case you could not read the sarcasm, that was sarcasm.) And I have a big project due tomorrow so I have to get up early to finish it, and I have STAR testing so I'm supposed to be getting sleep. There goes that plan.**

**Anyways, I really hope you enjoyed it!**


	23. The Realization

**This was so easy to write because of seven little words that will make your day. Or at least your week. Unless you're hater in which case... don't read the story. Honestly, if you don't like it, don't read it. Unless you've got some weird creepy reason like "Know thine enemy!" or something like that.**

**Anyways, the first part about colors is kinda my own musing and thoughts about the relationships in FMA which is a topic I could go on about for a very long time. But I didn't so I could focus on my favorite relationship in FMA. I also introduce a character that is a lot of fun to write. He's the guy you love to hate, you know?**

**Anways (for the second time), I'm not even going to say hope you enjoy, because I know you'll enjoy :D**

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><p>Al was really starting to get tired of the color red. Actually, that wasn't true. He had been tried of the color red. As Ed's favorite color, he had seen quite a bit of it in the armor and even around the house with his body back. Still, it was only a slightly exhausted color.<p>

Then he came to Xing.

They used red for everything. Any and all celebrations were always and without exception red. Red decorations, table clothes, outfits, gifts, anywhere and everywhere you could fit the color red, it was there. He understood why, of course. In their culture, red was a symbol for good luck and why would you not want to bring good luck to a marriage or a new year?

It didn't stop him from starting to detest the color.

"Al? Are you okay?" Mei asked him. He was startled out of his thoughts and looked up at the Princess in front of him. They were waiting outside the doors to the main hall where the servants were frantically working on taking down the wedding decorations and setting up the feast.

"What? Oh yeah. I'm fine. Just thinking. Weddings really are different here."

"Most certainly," Mei answered. "Ed and Winry's, though I must admit it was lovely, was one of the weirdest events I've ever been to. Winry was wearing white for crying out loud!"

"Of course she was wearing white, why wouldn't she be?" he asked.

"White's the color of death."

"Really?" Al asked, incredulous. Xing. He had been there two years now and it still never ceased to amaze him. "I've always thought of white as purity. Free from dirt and blood. Red is more a color of… passion. Passion for love, passion for hate."

"So you would say the color for love is red?"

"What type of love are you talking about?" he replied. She smiled at him and he couldn't help but smile back. "Thing about it," he said, leaning against a wall. "You would say Brother and Winry are in love, correct?" She nodded and he continued.

"I believe with all my heart that my parents were in love too. But they are totally different types of love. Brother and Winry have a much more, I don't want to say violent, because that's not the right way to say it, but it's more of a… they have more of a BANG type of love. My mom and dad had something softer. But they were both love and there's no denying it. Does that make any sense at all?"

"You've really thought about this a lot haven't you?" Mei asked, smiling softly.

"A night's almost at long as a day, and I've had four years' worth of them to think about things like this."

Mei opened her mouth to respond to his slightly depressing comment, when a bell rung out and the doors opened. Ling and Lan Fan (dressed in a different gown) were already seated at the table in the very front of the room. Hundreds of other tables littered the room, their first courses already simmering in their bowls. They were forced to separate as they were led to their seat. Al would be sitting with the other Ambassadors and representatives from Amestris. Mei would be sitting with her brother at the most important table.

"Hello General Mustang," he said politely in Amestrian as he took his seat next to the man in question. Roy Mustang, freed of, as Ed called it, "that dead caterpillar on your lip", nodded to Al and pointed to the seat next to him that was labeled with Al's name in flowery writing.

"It's good to see you Alphonse."

"You too General. And it's always a pleasure to see you too… I'm sorry Lieutenant, I can never keep track of what rank they're giving you."

"You don't have to call me by my rank, Al. Just call me Riza," she told him, smiling gently. She looked better than she had at the previous wedding they had both attended. She was smiling easier and looked almost radiant.

"The same goes from me, Al," Mustang added. "The only person I wish wouldn't call me General more than you is Riza."

"But calling you Roy seems too weird. We're almost twenty years in age difference," Al protested, nodding his thanks to the servant placing a dish of bread on the table next to his soup.

"Please don't say that out loud," Mustang muttered. "If you say things like that, people will start thinking I'm old. I'm not old. I'm in the prime of my youth!"

"Sir, if Edward were here, he would tell you that mid-forties is hardly the prime of youth anymore."

"Riza! Why do you wound me so! And don't call me sir."

Rolling her eyes slightly in Al's direction, she lifted her arm into a salute. "Yes sir."

He groaned and started a brief argument that Al didn't pay attention to. The soup really was delicious. He had no idea what it actually was, but it was sure to be something very expensive.

"Do my eyes deceive me? Surely this cannot be the great Alphonse Elric, pushed aside to this table!" Al looked up to see a man standing at his shoulder. He had black hair that hung around him like a curtain and a thing mustache sitting under his lip. His eyes were a blue-black and though he was smiling, he didn't seem very happy.

"I am an Ambassador, sir, it only makes sense for me to be here," he replied, smiling slightly. "I'm sorry; I don't know who you are."

"My name is Alkrine Kahn. I am the youngest prince of Xiongnu."

"Prince, really? I didn't know that Xiongnu functioned on a King-Emperor government base."

"Oh yes, we do," Kahn replied, taking his seat across from Al. "It's more of an honorary title, but I'm more assured a job than someone who's never seen the inside of the inner workings of the government. My father is provided for by the people and in return… well nothing really. Like I said, the title is mostly honorary. Our Supreme Military Leader does most of the actual leading."

"Really? I know so little about Xiongnu, information about it is closely guarded here in the palace."

"Surely the privileges given to you as the Emperor's close friend get you access to the correct texts!"

"Not to give offence, Prince Alkrine," Al said, not at all liking the man's tone and inflections, "but I'm not sure the records exist. You cannot deny, Xing and Xiongnu have not been the closest of friends. They didn't give much effort to record the customs of previous enemies. I wish it wasn't true, but true it is."

"A real shame. I hear that you and the Princess Chang are going to be traveling the countries east of here, perhaps you will be able to visit?"

"Perhaps."

Hoping that he wouldn't have to continue the conversation, Al continued to sip his soup. Both Roy and Riza stared at Al who was slurping quite loudly and he smiled apologetically back. He quickly explained a bit about food customs and they started slurping along with him. A few courses passed with only a few pleasantries and Al was quite happy to call the night an extremely romantic and successful night, until he realized the meal was only about half over.

"Elric?" Kahn asked from across the table. "I just realized something. My older brother, Xionye is going to be getting married himself soon. Perhaps you and Princess Chang could stop by on your journey for the event. You would be able to learn more about our culture and you and Princess Chang could function as emissaries. Two birds with one stone, eh?"

"Well, I would have to talk with the Princess first," Al replied calmly. He did want to stop at Xiongnu during his travels, but he wasn't sure that this would be as ideal as Kahn tried to make it seem. There was just something about the gleam in his eyes.

"Of course," he answered easily. "Here she is now."

Mei was standing up, a small gong silencing the room. She nodded at the man who had rung the gong, bowed to the married couple, and straightened. She was still dressed in the red dress with the gold streaks and smiled at everyone in the room.

"Thank you for coming," she said loudly so everyone in the room could hear her. Al whispered a translation to Roy and Riza who thanked him quickly. "As this Emperor's only marriage, this is a very special occasion and we thank you all for blessing them with your attendance. I propose a toast to the couple and their union. May their years of happiness be long, their reign prosperous, and their line fruitful."

There was a thunderous applause which Al heartily joined in. "They really deserve each other," Al said to Roy and Riza who were clapping almost as hard as Al was. "They've loved each other for so long. It's good that they're finally doing something about it." Mustang cast a look in Al's direction that very clearly said "Shut up. I doing the best I can."

After Mei's toast, they finished the rest of the courses and people slowly started leaking out of the room. Ling and Lan Fan stood at the exit and said goodbye to all those leaving. Kahn stood up and crossed the table so that he could better talk to with Al. Al tried to move away quickly, but he grabbed him on the elbow and he was forced to turn around.

"So, you will talk with the Princess now?"

"Yeah, I'll go find her." But he didn't have to find her. She ran up to him shortly after he went searching for her.

"Al, we have to wait until—Oh, hello," she bowed. "I'm Princess Mei Chang, are you a friend of the Ambassador's?"

"Hello Princess Chang," he said, kissing her hand. "I am Prince Alkrine from Xiongnu. I heard about the travels you and the Ambassador are planning to make and I suggested that you two 'kick it off' with my brother's wedding. I imagine that you wouldn't have had many opportunities to explore our culture and there's no better way to observe customs than a wedding, wouldn't you say?"

"Well that does seem like it would be a good idea, but I would need to talk with—"

"Oh your partner had already told me that he's all for the idea, he just wanted me to ask you so that you would not feel pressured into saying yes. A wonderful man, isn't he?"

"Yes, he is quite wonderful—"

"So I can count on you there? It would mean so much to have such an important representative from Xing come, and to have a man from the distance country of Amestris would be such an honor." Al tried to cut in, but he rode right over him. "Please tell me you agree. I can make sure that you would receive the highest of accommodations—"

"Princess Chang and I will consider it; the likelihood is that we will say yes. You will stay here at the palace for another day and we will give you our answer. It was very nice to talk to you Prince Alkrine, but it's been a long day for the both of us and we would like to retire. If you'll excuse us," Al cut off smoothly and pulled Mei away by the hand. She nodded and him before quickly hurrying up to match his pace.

"Thank you. I'm pretty sure that he's trying to get me as integrated into his customs as possible so he can say he has a claim to me when I'm old enough to get married," she said, laughing a bit. "I should probably start getting used to it."

"Doesn't that bother you?" he asked abruptly, stopping once they had found their way through the rest of the crowd and had reached an empty side hall.

"What do you mean?"

"Doesn't it bother you that you're probably going to end up being a bargaining chip? You deserve better than that, Mei," he said, not meeting her eyes.

"Of course it bothers me. It doesn't really matter though, does it," she said lifting up his face so he was forced to look at her face. "We're always going to be close friends, right?"

It was then, with light from the lanterns striking her from the different directions that he realized he didn't want to be close friends forever. He realized why Kahn kissing her hand and trying to flatter her bothered him. Why he couldn't stop thinking about her during the wedding. The reason hit him with so much force he almost had to sit down and Mei asked him if he was feeling alright. He couldn't hear her exact words though because the truth was coursing through him life a purifying fire.

He was in love with Mei Chang.


	24. Xiongnu

**I had a lot of fun with the end. The first part is "eh" but the end was a lot of fun.**

**And I'm almost to 100 reviews too! WHOHOOO! Thank you! (Oh, and, please push me over guys, the whole '97' thing is bugging me. It's just so close but not there. Annoying.)**

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><p>"Have you seen Alphonse?"<p>

"Do you know where Al is?"

"Yes, Ambassador Elric. I can't find him."

"We have to leave as soon as possible. You don't?"

"What do you mean you don't know what he looks like? He's the only man with golden hair in the palace!"

"Does anyone know where Al is?"

"Mei?"

Mei turned around sharply to find Al standing in the hall behind her looking very confused.

"What's wrong?"

"What's wrong? We're supposed to be leaving! I have our things in the carriage, but Alkrine's been complaining about how long everything's been taken and how much he misses home. The sooner we get out of here, the sooner we get away from him. What were you doing, anywyas?"

"Uh," he blushed slightly. "I was talking with Ling." Mei raised an eyebrow.

"Why are you blushing?"

"… it was a very interesting talk." Shaking her head, Mei decided to accept it and grabbed his hand, pulling him towards the front of the palace.

"So we're going to be riding a carraige directly to Kinru, Xiongnu's capital. Cars need too much energy and Alkrine says it's hard to get gas out there so we're going to be riding and walking a lot. Probably a good portion of sleeping outside under the stars too. Horses shouldn't be too hard to get ahold of out there though. Xiongnu is famous for their horses. While we're in Kinru we'll be staying in the palace there. After that, Alkrine said he would save us some rooms in a well-to-do inn near that we can stay in as long as we like as we familiarize ourselves to the culture and such."

"He sure seems to be doing a lot for us," Al said and he hurried through the palace at her side.

"I thought we already talked about this. He's trying to be nice so that if I actually get to make a choice about what prince I'm going to marry, he'll be on the top." She stopped in the middle of the hall and stared directly at him.

"If I ever actually start to so much as think about being any sort of friend with him, please slap me."

Secretly thinking that he would like almost nothing else (not to slap her, but to make sure she didn't fall for the Xiongnu prince) he faked a shocked look.

"Why?"

"I would rather spend the rest of my existence in a Philosopher's Stone than marry him. He's creepy, doesn't own a white horse, and his castle's probably totally inadequate."

Al couldn't help but laugh.

"That is definitely the Mei I met in Amestris. How do you think he looks in shining armor?"

"Probably not near as amazing as you did when you were shining armor."

It was just an offhand comment, and she continued to drag him away but he cheeks burned bright red and he could feel a very warm and pleasant feeling growing inside his chest. His realization a few days ago was really messing with the way he was interacting with the small Princess. He almost wished he could go back to before he had realized what the warm feeling inside of him was. Then he would look at her, turn red, and call himself and idiot for not seeing it earlier. Everyone else apparently had.

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><p>"Ah, you finally grace us with your presence," Prince Alkrine said when they arrived at the carriage. "I was beginning to think you had gotten cold feet."<p>

"I'm afraid that's my fault, Prince Alkrine," Ling said, appearing almost out of nowhere, Lan Fan at his side. She had changed dramatically since the wedding. She had insisted upon still being Ling's guard which he had adamantly refused. They finally came to the compromise that she could still accompany him everywhere he went, but that she would no longer hide her face and would allow someone else to guard him at night. She hadn't agreed until he allowed her to keep a knife under their pillows. Lan Fan had taken to her new position swimmingly, even abandoning her guard outfit. Instead, she wore an outfit similar to the ones Mei wore, but in darker colors.

"I was detaining Ambassador Elric with some last minute instructions." Alkrine bowed graciously, but he was wearing a not so pleasant look on his face. Ling smiled and pulled Mei aside.

"Now Mei, I want you to promise to be a good girl, okay?" he told her in Amestrian so the onlookers couldn't understand. "Play nice with the other kids, stay on your toes, and remember not to have too much fun with dear Alphonse, okay?"

"Ling!"

"What?"

"Ugh!"

"Man," Ling said, placing his hand on his hips. "You try to give your little sister a bit of well-meaning advice and she gets mad at you. Good way to say goodbye to the only brother that wouldn't like to kill her."

Mei rolled her eyes and hugged her brother, to which a few people present gasped, mostly Alkrine's attendants. The rest of the Xingese court present was used to the Chang Princess breaking protocol. Then Ling broke protocol and hugged Al.

"Don't forget that little talk we had, Al. I will come through on my promise."

"Don't worry, I won't forget," he chuckled nervously. "Trust me, I don't want any of the things you described coming true."

"Good. Take care of her!"

Then Lan Fan stepped forward and bowed to both of them. Al smiled and Mei hugged her sister in law. Lan Fan turned slightly pink and stared nervously at the gathered people, but most of them were talking amongst themselves.

"Try to enjoy being married to Ling, okay?" Al told her, and she smiled slightly back.

"Be safe, both of you." They both nodded and waved goodbye again as they climbed into the carriage. Alkrine was already sitting in there, with his hands folded perfectly and with a blank expression on his face. One of his personal servants was also inside. The man barked something to the driver outside and the horses started moving. The Prince just sighed and continued to stare blankly into the distance.

"This is going to be a fun trip," Al muttered in Amestrian. Mei chuckled but stopped when the servant gave her an appalled look.

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><p><em>Kinru was definitely just as amazing as Alkrine described<em>, Al thought to himself. The buildings were gracefully swept with a hint of Xingese architecture. It was clean as far as cities go, and everyone had some hint of color. There were vendors with wares lining every street, selling everything from food to appliances. People stopped and bowed as the carriage rolled past, and Alkrine waved politely out the window.

"Are you impressed with my city?" the Prince asked as Mei and Al stared out the window openmouthed.

"Yes, it's quite amazing," Mei answered. "It's wonderful." Alkrine smiled and placed his hand on Mei's. She looked down at it and smiled slightly, but Al could tell it was forced.

"I know you will learn to love it as much as I do."

"In time," she said, still forcing a smile. "Perhaps Ambassador Elric and I can explore later today?" His smile soured.

"Yes, of course. As soon as you're settled."

They waited the rest of the ride in silence until the carriage drew up to the largest building in the city. There was a confederation of people waiting in the front, all dressed in fine clothes.

"Ah, my family will welcome us," Alkrine said, leaning forward. When the carriage finally pulled to a stop, a man opened the door and Alkrine stopped out, waving his hand to the people gathered. A cheer went up and some of them stepped forward. Among those that stepped forward was a man who looked similar to the Prince (no doubt his brother) and a small gaggle of girls.

Mei climbed out by herself and the people stopped cheering and all bowed gracefully to her. She nodded and smiled at them all. However, when Al stepped out an immediate hush fell over the crowd. They all started muttering behind their hands and Al felt suddenly self-conscious.

"Why are they doing that?"

"They have never seen anyone with hair or eyes such as yours, Abassador," Alkrine answered. "Travel is not encouraged and Xing blocks most of our contact with the Western countries. We have heard of men with golden hair, but I myself had not met one until the Emperor's wedding. Did I not tell you how great an honor it would be to have someone from you country present at my brother's wedding?"

"Great. I barely got over people staring at me in Xing," Al muttered under his breath. Mei smiled sadly at him.

"You should probably just get used to it. We aren't going to meet any blonds the further out we go, you know." He sighed but nodded, stepping forward to greet the people in front of him. The man who looked similar to Alkrine stepped forward.

"I am Prince Xionye. I welcome you and your companion to our humble country of Xiongnu. My brother told me that he would be bringing important guests with him to attend my wedding, but he did not say who."

"I am Current Hair to the Throne, Princess Mei Chang of Xing," Mei said, stepped to stand next to Al. "This is my companion Alphonse Elric, of the Western country Amestris. He is a close friend to the Emperor of Xing and an important figure in Amestrian doings. We are honored to be able to attend such an important event."

"The honor is all ours," Prince Xionye answered, bowing low. "We have quarters for the two of you; you may acquaint yourselves with them and then explore our country. Most of the vendors will accept money from Xing, if you wish to buy anything."

Thanking them and smiling (his cheeks were really starting to hurt), they entered the rooms that the servant showed them to and changed. Dressing in fresh clothes, they met in the hallway and made their way into the market with a hand drawn map of the city. They walked around for a bit, looking at the buildings and the people. Everywhere they went, people stared at Al and his bright yellow hair.

"I want to buy you something," Al told Mei eventually, pulling her over to a vendor who had a collection of beautiful necklaces and other pieces of jewelry laid out. Slightly pink, she looked over the necklaces.

"Al, I'm touched but these are all much too expensive, I can't expect you to pay this much for me. Really, you don't—"

"What about that one?" he interrupted, pointing to one in the middle of the display.

It was a beautiful necklace. The silver dragon pendant was wrapped around a large pink stone that almost looked like a pulsing heart. Two small pink stones sparkled from the place that the dragon's eyes would be, making it look alive. The craftsmanship was exquisite and Al knew why he was drawn to it so quickly. It reminded him of Mei.

"How much is it?" he asked, staring at the vendor. The man grinned.

"Forty-five dishens*." Mei was flushing bright red as Al pulled out a wallet and counted out a measure of money equivalent to the price. He pulled out the last few bills then started shaking the piece of leather, searching for more. A photograph or two floated out, but not extra bills or coins.

"Um, would you take thirty-seven?"

"No, sir, I would not," the man snapped, turning his back to them to grab something.

"Wait!" Al called out. "I can help you out! I'm an alchemist from the West. I can fix some of your broken pieces. Enough to make up for the rest of the price. One piece of jewelry for one dishen." The man stopped and turned around.

"You can do that?"

"Yes," Al said with a nod of the head. The man's eyes gleamed and he nodded, bustling towards the back to fetch what Al asked for.

"You don't have to," Mei muttered under her breath to the Amestrian. He just smiled at her.

"Actually I do. Do you remember Ling pulling me aside and talking to me before we left?" Mei nodded. "He told me explicitly that, and I quote, 'You have to make sure no foreign strangers get their meat hooks in my sister. I don't care how you do that.' If you're walking around with a necklace like this no one's going to be 'getting their meat hooks ready'. It's a lot easier than making holes in the ground swallow them up and chemically turning their drinks into alcohol." Mei chuckled at the reference to Rou.

"I could get you a ring, but that might be… inappropriate," Al finished after searching for the right word. Oh yes, a ring would be very inappropriate. He was secretly angry that Winry had explained the custom of giving rings for engagements. If she hadn't, he could have given Mei a ring. Not in that way though. She was sixteen for crying out loud.

"Yeah, it would," she agreed. "And it probably wouldn't do much good anyways, rings aren't a symbol of marriage in Xing, it would serve to prove that it wouldn't in the rest of the countries we'll be visiting."

"Of course."

The man, back from his trip behind the stall, laid eight different necklaces in front of Al and stepped back slightly to watch. Al picked one up, a lovely piece with a delicately carved flower, examined the crack down the back for a few seconds, the put it back on the table. He clapped his hands together, placed them to the necklace, and after the blue light cleared it was once again in one piece.

He repeated this process for all of the other necklaces until the man finally nodded, satisfied with the work. He thanked Al profusely and handed him the necklace. Al thanked him and turned his back to the man only to find a small crowd of people surrounding him. They were all staring at him like hawks.

"Forgive us, Wonderful," one of the men said, stepping forward. "But we never thought that we would ever get to meet the illustrious Western Sage with our own eyes. This is an honor beyond any we have ever hoped to witness." Then to Al utter amazement and embarrassment, the man got down on his knees and bowed to the ground, followed by the rest of the group.

"What the… No, wait," he stammered as one of them actually crawled up and kissed his shoe. "I'm not who you think I am."

"Of course you are, Wonderful. No other man may have hair like gold and the power to control the spirits as you do," the same man said, lifting his eyes towards Al's face. By looking into his eyes, Al could tell the man really thought what they said.

"You mean alchemy?"

"The power to fix that man's wares, yes. Why do you visit us now, in this manner?"

"… I'm seriously not who you think I am. I'm an alchemist from the country of Amestris. Amestris. There are a lot of people with blond hair there. Alchemy is just a science—"

"Wonderful, there is no need to try to conceal yourself. We always knew you would return!"

It took another half an hour to convince the people that he was not the Western Sage. He tried to explain alchemy, but they simply didn't understand. It finally took him cutting the back of his hand to prove to them he could get hurt to convince them. Even then, some of them protested that he was preventing himself from healing. When they finally managed to make the people disperse, some of them angry, some disappointed, and some embarrassed, Mei couldn't hold in her laughter.

"What?"

"Well, it's just that in a way you are the Western Sage. You are his son after all. You stand for all the same things he did."

"Oh shut up."

* Dishen is a completely fictional form of money. It has no reference to actual currencies.

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><p><strong>I really wanted to have someone confusing Al with the Western Sage or something and it fit too perfectly with the situation. *cackle cackle*<strong>

**I don't think I'm going to be doing the Xiongnuese wedding.**


	25. Worth Fighting For AU

**I know I'm super super super late and I promised to have it up on Monday but it's just so LONG! Seriously guys, the story not even including the chapter notes, is over 8,500 words. EIGHT THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED. THAT'S REALLY LONG. But I didn't want to break it down at all so... yeah. I promised Exile Wrath that I would finish it tonight and I did! Cause I don't break pinky promises.**_  
><em>

**Explanation**** if Needed: _(DO NOT READ BEFORE READING ITALICS. IF CONFUSED AFTER READING ITALICS, READ THIS._)**

**So there's this group that takes over Amestris's government after a fight with the Central forces. In the fighting all of Team Mustang gets killed except Mustang. This group then goes and takes over Xing, killing Ling and Lan Fan. Al and Mei who were in the same room run from the men who killed Ling and Lan Fan but Al stops to hold them off so Mei can escape and ends up getting shot and dying. Mei runs to Mustang and he, who has had an idea to overthrow the BOB (unimaginative acronym with not meaning), goes to Ed to tell him about Al's death and pitch his idea for this overthrowing. Ed agrees and leaves Winry and his kids. Mustang, Ed, and Mei are the Generals of AGOF, the Agents of Freedom. The press named them. Ed threw a fit when he heard the name and Mustang just laughed.**

**This story is told from the perspective of Arthur Dong, who was created by me. But he's not an OC. Figure that one out.**

**Oh, and happy 25th chapter!**

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><p><em>On Saturday, the UGN, a radical terrorist group that has been calling for governmental change since the end of Fuhrer Bradely's stay in office, released a public threat to take Fuhrer Grumman out of his seat of power. General Mustang told the public that the threat is being taken seriously and actions are being taken to prevent this action, but the public can't help but wonder if this is true. Everyday citizens disappear off the streets, never to be seen again. The members of UGN never seem to end and have the capability to hide better than a Xingese Imperial Guard.<em>

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><p>"<em>Ladies and gentleman, this is a public announcement from Capital Radio. Please do not leave your homes. The well-known group known commonly as UGN is leading a coup against the government. Central forces are being sent out to deal with the problem. Once again, do not venture outside your homes."<em>

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><p>"<em>You may be frightened, and I understand that many of you have a right to be. This change in power has taken a great many people unawares. However, I make my promise to you right here and now that you will no longer live in fear. I will lead Amestris into the greatest era ever known!"<em>

_Roy Mustang, sitting home alone with only a bottle of whiskey, two broken limbs, and a broken heart, screamed and threw the glass in his hand at the radio, cutting off the raucous applause._

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><p>"<em>Al, I think you should take Mei and get out of Xing. The UGN had been making subtle threats about what they're going to do there for weeks. You can have your wedding here in Resembool. Bring Ling and Lan Fan and make sure to disguise them. Disguise Mei too. If they found out that they were traveling here, you'd all be dead before the train took off."<em>

"_Brother, I think you're being paranoid."_

"_No I'm not! These people are not to be trifled with. They're almost as bad as the homunculus, only they're not trying to hide it!"_

"_Fine, I'll talk to Ling about it. But I'm telling you, the palace guard is the best in Xing. And even if they fail, I don't know anyone who could make it past Lan Fan."_

"_She is pregnant Al."_

"_If anything that's just made her fiercer Brother. I think we'll be fine."_

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><p>"<em>What do you mean they made it past the guards?" Ling thundered. The man in front of him, injured and tired, swayed where he stood.<em>

"_They appeared out of nowhere. We couldn't see them coming. I fear they may be… may be…" He fell to the ground and Mei rushed over, drawing a quick circle. Al looked up in fear._

"_Brother was right. We have to get you and Lan Fan out of here."_

"_Okay," he said after a moment of deliberating. "There's an escape route in the private room."_

_Mei, finished sealing up the guard's wounds, stood up and hurried to help Lan Fan to her feet. The Empresses's pregnancy had caused her to become much less graceful and more unwieldy, leading to trouble standing up without help. She would only accept it from her husband, sister, and Al._

_They made their way to the private room attached to the throne room as quickly as they could. Once inside, Ling showed them exactly where the panel in the wall was and explained how it led to the forest the fringed the back of the palace. _

_Then they heard the pounding on the door of the throne room._

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><p><em>A wordless scream tore from his throat as she fell to the ground, already dead. Almost everyone stopped to stare as the Emperor pulled out a sword and attacked the closest men. Al kicked the man he was fighting in the chest, then grabbed Mei and pushed her towards the panel in the wall. They were almost there when Ling's screaming stopped. Turning around in fear, they caught the side of a man holding a gun and Ling's body toppling to the floor.<em>

_They could only run._

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><p><em>They were almost to the river when the men caught up. All they had to do was get across the river and then they would be in the forest where it would be relatively easy to avoid them.<em>

"_Go on Mei, I'll hold them off."_

"_Not a chance. I'm going to stay here and fight with you."_

"_No! Get out of here!" he yelled and she shook her head again._

"_I'm not going to leave you!"_

"_You're going to. I'll be right behind you, I promise." He took a second to wink at her before clapping his hands together. "I've got a wedding to attend." _

"_I love you!" she shouted and he smiled, placing his hands to the ground and making two hands grab some of the men coming at them. Mei ran across the river and was about to slip into the forest when she turned around in time to hear the gun go off three times and see her finance crumple to the ground._

"_No!" Then the men were crossing the river themselves and she had to run into the thicket of trees, wiping away tears as she did._

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><p>"<em>Oh, go search for bodies Emson. We have to make sure no one escaped," the man muttered as he walked along the edge of the palace. "It's a very important job. Yeah, right."<em>

_As he turned the corner, he caught sight of gold shimmering near the river. Hardly believing his luck he ran over, only to find a body with the most golden blond hair he had ever seen. He looked at the pool of blood the body was in and snorted. _

"_There's no way this buddy's making it. Must have only been dead an hour or so, the body's still warm. Definitely dead though. No breathing, no pulse. He's gone. And you're talking to yourself." Shaking his head in self-disgust, he kicked the body into the river. Burning or burying it would take too long._

* * *

><p>"<em>That can't be true! You're lying! Stop!"<em>

"_I wish I could Ed. Mei Chang came to me today, looking worse than I've ever seen. She was crying and told me about how they killed the Emperor and his wife in front of her. Al… Al died protecting her as they escaped."_

"_No! No! He can't be… he can't be…"_

_Mustang stared at his former subordinate with understanding. He couldn't accept it when his team had died fighting. Furey, Breda, Falman, Havoc, and the absolute worst of all that had sent him into a pit so dark he thought he would never emerge, Hawkeye. _

"_Listen Ed. I had an idea and the Princess agreed to help out to her dying breath. Do you want revenge?"_

_Ed looked up at him, the look in his eyes so similar to when they had first met, for a moment Mustang was convinced he was still in uniform and about to walk through the door and meet Hawkeye outside._

"_Yes."_

* * *

><p>"<em>I have to help Mustang out. This idea of his<em>_—__ it's not original but it could work. We could bring the UGN down. I have to go. Promise me you'll wait for me." Winry paused for a moment before smiling softly._

"_Okay." Ed felt his heart break again. The image flashed in front of his eyes of Winry falling to the floor as Benjamin and Sara watched, aghast. Then sitting at her bedside as she suffered. Them growing angry at the father that was never there._

"_No, you have to promise. My mother promised that she'd wait for him to come home and she died waiting. Don't do that Winry. I couldn't stand it if you did."_

"_Don't worry Ed. Not to disrespect her, but I think I'm made of a pretty strong polymer."_

"_That's my gear-head."_

* * *

><p>"<em>You don't have to go see them," she warned as he walked into their rooms.<em>

"_Hohenheim never came to say goodbye to me and Al. I'm not doing that to my children at least," Ed told her as he kneelt at Benjamin's bed. The boy blinked at the light coming from the door before focusing on his father's face._

"_Daddy?"_

"_Hey Benny. I'm going to be gone for a while, so I'm going to need you to watch over your mommy for a while okay? Can you do that for me?"_

"_Okay Daddy. Can I go back to sleep?" Ed chuckled and rubbed his head._

"_Go ahead. I love you, okay?"_

"_Love you too Daddy," he mumbled sleepily. Ed did the same for Sara, only he didn't make the mistake of trying to wake her up. Kissing her gently on the forehead, he stood and made for the door. Winry followed him, holding his suitcase__—__the same suitcase he had used while searching for the Philosopher's Stone__—__and as he placed a hand on the door knob he had to turn around and look at her directly in the eye. _

"_I will be back. I will not be my father." Winry kissed him on the lips and handed him his suitcase._

"_I'll be here. Keep us in your heart." Ed smiled and opened the door, letting light flood the hallway. In front of him was the whole world, the world that he had wanted to explore so badly with his brother. Behind him was the world he had created together with the woman he loved._

_The door closed with an ominous click._

* * *

><p>Arthur Dong really hated his life sometimes. True, he couldn't remember most of it, but he really hated it. Life had not started out well, being the son of a Xingese farmer and an Amestrian run away had immediately put him behind the rest of… everyone. Both Amestrians and the Xingese looked down on him. The fact that his father was a farmer didn't help in terms of status. His mother died when he was four and he didn't even remember any of it expect sitting by her bed side because of a head injury a few years ago that had been causing memory problems ever since.<p>

But no, that wasn't what made him hate his life. What really made him hate his life was the fact that the UGN who had taken complete control of his home country had just murdered his father for having a half Amestrian son, tried to kill him, and then decided that chasing him down wasn't the effort and that they would wait for someone to turn him in. Under the new reign, any and all Amestrians or part Amestrians could be turned in to the authorities for money or for lenience in their own punishments. Since they handed out so many punishment s for minor offences, the business for finding Amestrians was fairly large. Apparently the same was true for the Xingese in Amestris. So it didn't matter which country he was in, he would get caught.

As if the world needed to give him any more reasons to hate his life, he was now surrounded by a group of unfamiliar men and woman who were all pointing guns at him. Yup, life was not very good for him.

"Please don't turn me in," he begged as one of them forced him to his knees. "I have some money, you can have it, just let me go."

"Tell me," one of the men who had his face covered with a hat said. "What is a mutt doing walking around as if he had no problems at all?"

_Mutt_. He hated being called that. Ever since he was a kid that was all people would ever call him: the mutt. Part Amestrian and part Xingese. It was really quite tiring. The fact that he was a perfect mix with black hair and bright blue eyes didn't help him try to hide it.

"Trying to get out of here," he said, hoping that the answer would convince them to let him go. "My father was just killed and I'm trying to stay alive myself."

"You don't say. What were you planning on doing once you had stayed alive?"

"I don't know. I hadn't planned that far," he answered honestly. The man turned to his companions and whispered to one of them. They shared a brief but rapid conversation in hushed tones that Arthur couldn't follow and the one that had been talking to him turned towards him again.

"Your father, was he killed because of you?" Arthur nodded, tears stinging the corner of his eyes. "Interesting. Well I think we just made plans for you. How would you like to join the Agents of Freedom?"

Arthur stared at the man. AGOF had been formed only a few months after the UGN had taken over Xing, supposedly by some Xingese citizens who were loyal to the Emperor and a handful of Amestrian ex-militaries. In the last two years it had grown to become the only major opposing force to the UGN regime. They were supposedly based in the desert separating the two countries and took anyone who could find them, even searching out some specifically for their ranks.

"Uhh…"

"And since we just told you about us, if you say no we'll have to kill you," he said, with only a trace of sadness.

Arthur Dong really hated his life.

* * *

><p>Two weeks later, after more tests than he could count to test his strength, endurance, speed, stealth, intelligence (all of which were surprisingly high. Who would have known working on a farm for 24 years actually helped you join a rebel group?), and most importantly, honesty. It seemed the number one trait they looked for in recruits was "Not a spy."<p>

So he was given a rank, a division, barracks, and orders to show up at a particular time and place to show up. It was supposed to be "Hand-to-hand Introduction", but one of the men who had looked over his orders told him it was actually "Getting Beat Up By Chang". He didn't know who Chang was, but from the way the man was eyeing him like he'd never been seen again, he gathered that Chang was a very scary person.

So it was in this state of fear that he entered the room on Saturday. He was with a group of other men and women, some of who looked as terrified as him and some who just looked like they couldn't wait to get out of there. Most of them had some form of physical injury and looked like they had been through a lot worse than he had.

"Do you know what's he's like?" he asked a man who looked slightly more assured than the rest. "Chang?" The man stared at him and then started laughing slightly.

"Chang's not—"

"Anyone who's not lined up in ten seconds is running through the desert for the rest of the day," a voice rang out threw the muttering and whispers, causing several people to jump. There was a rush as people fought to get into a line in front of a roped off ring.

When everyone was out of the way he glanced at the door to see a short lithe figure. All the heads turned and Chang, it had to be Chang, walked down the row staring at them all. Was the leader of "Get Beat Up By Chang" really so small? Then she walked in front of him and he realized that Chang was a girl. A small girl. She had to be at least a foot shorter than him and a good deal thinner. After inspecting them all, she jumped over the ropes and stared at them all again.

"Welcome to Hand-to-hand. I am General Mei Chang. Yes I'm a General, yes I'm a girl, yes I'm short, and yes I can make your lives miserable. No, I did not do something "bad" to give my recruit duty, I request it. I'm the one who's going to make sure your worth even keeping. If you want some background, find it yourself, let's just say the UGN has put me through a lot of grief and I will fight them until my dying breath. I am going to call you up, beat you, and then you will try again harder tomorrow until I pass you. Some of you have been stuck in this class for a while. Most of you will not be moving on today."

"You," she said without pausing and pointed to the man standing next to Arthur. He must have been at least twice the size of the General, but he still gulped loudly before stepping up in front of her. Someone called out a countdown and at "Go!" the man threw a punch. Chang ducked under his swing and elbowed him in the gut and pulled away just as fast as she had come. She stood there waiting while he caught his breath. When he had regained it, he ran towards her only to land on the ground with her feet on his chest.

"Pathetic. I could have done this when I was eleven," she spat. "You have to be on your toes all the time. It can and probably will save your life. Back in line. You!" she shouted, pointing at Arthur. "Mutt, get up here."

Swallowing himself, Arthur walked up to the small General.

"What's your name?"

"Arthu—" His reply was cut off when her legs swept his legs out from under him and he hit the ground hard.

"Don't stop for pleasantries," she warned. "Get up."

He struggled to his feet and watched carefully. She was trying to read him, he realized and acted accordingly. He faked right and she blocked while he tried to come in on the left. She flipped backwards, successfully avoiding his real blow and landed solidly. Without missing a beat, she sprinted towards him leaning heavily to the right. _No one's going to be that obvious,_ he thought to himself and prepared for an attack on the left. As she moved forward to connect, he caught her hand and deftly twisted it behind her back.

Arthur held her there for a few seconds, hardly believing that he had actually won, when she hooked her foot around the back of his knee and pulled, sending them both towards the ground. Somehow, Chang twisted around and landed on top of him, her knee in his chest and a small ribboned knife against his neck.

"Good job," she said reluctantly after a few moments to show everyone how she had beaten him. He nodded but couldn't shake the feeling that he should have done better. "It isn't very often that someone can actually catch me at all. You said your name was Arthur, right?" He nodded. "Congratulation, you're the first person to ever pass on the first day. Come by here tomorrow after this class. I want to see if you do better under more pressure."

* * *

><p>"What's her problem?" Arthur asked the solider sitting next to him later as he scooped out some muck from a tin and fed it to himself. It was a far cry from the meals he used to receive at home, but he managed to keep moving every day so it must have some sort of nutritional value.<p>

"What are you talking about?"

"Well everyone has a problem. She said the UGN put her through a lot of grief. Do you know what that is?"

"You're an observant twit aren't you? I like you. If you must know, Chang's a not so funny story. I don't know the whole thing, I'm pretty sure only the other General's know that, but I'll give you what I know. General Chang used to be a Princess, Princess Mei Chang of the Chang clan. I know you're half Xingese so I won't explain the whole clan thing to you. Anyways, she wasn't your normal 'Fairies and pixie dust' princess, she was something else. I actually met her before this fiasco back right after the last Emperor ascended. She was working with all us normal folks to build roads between the clans. Probably got dirtier than me.

"When UGN took over and captured the capital, they executed her brother the Emperor. Her and him were pretty close, probably the closest there's ever been among the royal siblings. They offed him and his wife, who I hear was like a sister to Chang. Her betrothed was also killed trying to protect her as she escaped."

"She was betrothed? Who would want to marry her?"

"Hey, I said she was different. Before she got all commando and bitter, she used to be a pretty good gal, or so I'm told. Plus, her and her special guy had some history together."

"Do you know who the guy was?"

"Nope. He was Amestrian, I know that. Think he knew Mustang and Elric too. That's probably how Chang ended up with these guys."

"That's all you know?"

"Yup. Are you not going to eat that?" he asked pointing at the rest of the tinned muck. Arthur handed him the tin and he quickly finished the last of it. "There really isn't much to know. If you have to, some of the higher ups might be able to tell you her fiancé's name. I don't really see why it matters so much. Whether you know about her past or not, she's still going to take the opportunity to kill you tomorrow."

"Thanks a lot. What's your name?"

"Mathew Elison. You?"

"Arthur Dong."

* * *

><p>It was a week later when Arthur learned the name of Chang's fiancé. His name was Alphonse Elric. They had met in Amestris before the Promised Day and both were involved in the coup against the corrupt higher ranked military leaders. He traveled to Xing as an Ambassador and they had explored the countries east together. They finally got engaged shortly before the UGN became a serious threat and took over. He died trying to hold them off while she ran. She had run to Roy Mustang, who she knew from Amestris, and they worked with Edward Elric, who had been Alphonse's brother, to create AGOF, which had been named by the press.<p>

When he arrived after the class, she had brought him into the makeshift arena and proceeded to beat him black and blue and request that he return the next day so they could do it again. He accepted and showed up the next day for a similar treatment. As the days and weeks went by he managed to beat her a few times. When summer came around and it was so hot above the underground base that your skin almost start peeling off, he was beating her almost half the time. Every day they went at it again, and Arthur came to appreciate the grace and fluidity she possessed.

Sometimes, only sometimes, when they were done he would be able to ask her a question or two. Normally they were simple things like "You really used to be Princess Mei Chang?" or "Where under the sun did you learn to fight like this! I can barely get a hit in!", but he did manage to get her to tell him one thing about the man he loved learning more about.

"Did you love your fiancé?" She stared at him as if she didn't comprehend the question. He was about to apologize and back off when she answered.

"I loved him with all my heart and soul. I always will."

* * *

><p>Arthur lashed out and his foot connected with her stomach. Without wasting time, he shifted his weight and pushed her to the ground by way of shoulder. She jumped to her feet, but he quickly enveloped her in an incapacitating bear hug. She struggled for a bit, but when she couldn't escape after ten seconds, she stopped and he dropped her to the ground.<p>

"Sorry," he apologized as she growled.

"How many times do I have to tell you to stop apologizing every time you win?"

"Probably a few more times," he replied with a sheepish grin. Chang snorted and dusted off her pants.

"Good job," she said grudgingly. "Just tell—"

"Chang, I need to talk to you!" Arthur turned around to see General Elric storming into the room. He had seen the General around a bit, even exchanged a very short conversation. He interacted with more of the men than Mustang did, but most of the men were too scared of him to become any more than subordinates. Chang put her hands on her hips and glared.

"What do you want Edward?"

"You're supposed to get over to the— Oh. I didn't realize you were with someone. Is this that Arthur kid?"

"Yes sir, Arthur Dong. General Chang and I spar here every other night General. I can leave now if you want," Arthur said, snapping into a salute. It wasn't something he did easily, but he could manage a fair one in the General's presence.

"Yeah, get out of here."

Arthur nodded and jumped out of the arena, hurrying to the door. General Elric did not scare him like he did the other men, but he still made him slightly apprehensive, as if he was just waiting to hold him back when he exploded. He imagined that if the General ever did explode it would be loud and dangerous for those involved.

Arthur was about to close the door behind him when he heard Elric's voice say coldly,

"Don't tell me you're moving on to this Arthur kid." The aforementioned Arthur whipped his head around. Why were they talking about him?

"Moving on to Arthur? What are you talking about?"

"Well he's the only man you've talking to or about other than me and Mustang ever since the UGN took over," Elric said in an odd voice. Arthur didn't have to be in the room to know that General Chang was raising an eyebrow.

"What's the supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, just that Al gave his life to make sure you got out of the palace alive and safe."

Even outside, Arthur could feel the temperature drop ten degrees.

"You think this is about Al?" she asked, dangerously low. "You think—you think— how dare you! How dare you even think that I would or could ever—"

"You have to admit it's not uncommon. Two years is a long time, easy to forget—"

"How dare you!" she screamed. "I think of him every day! I loved him with all my heart and soul! Every fiber of my being was in love with him! I love him more than you!"

"He was my brother!" Elric yelled. "The only person—"

"He was my fiancé!" she screamed back. "He was all I had left after they murdered Ling and Lan Fan right in front of me!"

"He was all I had left too!" General Elric roared back.

"What about Winry and Benjamin and Sara? Oh wait, you walked out on them JUST LIKE YOU FATHER!"

Arthur took a step back. He didn't know much about General Elric's family, but if the gossip he had heard was correct, he had good reason to have as some called it "Daddy issues". A hand was placed on his shoulder and Arthur jumped slightly. Looking up, he saw that the hand belonged to General Mustang who was staring at him sadly.

"Go back to your quarters. This is something you shouldn't get involved in."

"But—but they were talking about me—They—they started fighting," he stammered.

"These day's they'll fight about anything. You were just an available target. Go back to your—"

"BECAUSE HE REMINDS ME OF AL!" Chang's voice ran out from the room. Both men outside jumped. Arthur stared at the door in shock. He reminded her of her dead fiancé? "OKAY!"

"Now it's really time for you to go," Mustang said softly and pushed him on the back. He complied and hurried down the hall to the barracks he shared with the other men. As he laid down on the bed (read mat) staring at the bottom of the bed above him he could help but hear her words ring in his mind.

"Because he reminds me of Al."

* * *

><p>"What happened yesterday?" Mathew asked the moment Arthur had rolled out of bed and tugged on a pair of boots. He really loved sleeping but last night had not been very full of it. He had been plagued by dreams of a man who looked similar to General Elric dancing with General Chang. The man had kissed her and then transformed into a monster with dark tentacles extending from its feet. He tried to run but he was kept attacking and stabbing him, but he couldn't die. Suffice to say, he didn't sleep well.<p>

"Seriously, Elric looks like he's about ready to kill you and Chang looks like she's about to kill him. What happened?"

"They started fighting last night after I left. I don't know what about," he lied. If people found out that the two Generals were fighting about him… he didn't want that type of attention.

"Arthur, you're a terrible liar. What were they fighting about?" Mathew said, not even looking up from the tin he was scrapping clean.

"Me," he answered regretfully. "General Elric got mad because he though General Chang was dishonoring his brother's memory by spending so much time with me and she got mad. They started fighting and Chang brought up his father."

"So you're lucky to be alive?"

"I'm feeling pretty lucky. Do you think that luck will continue?" he asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Why do you need it?" Mathew asked, licking the top of the tin's lid. The way he ate reminded Arthur of a boy he used to know. It really frustrated him that he couldn't remember the kid's name.

"She didn't cancel our spar because she didn't know I was listening in."

"… do you want me to say some words at your funeral or would you rather her?"

"Thanks for the endorsement."

"You're welcome buddy."

* * *

><p>"You might want to leave," Chang warned the moment he walked in the door. "I'm not in a good mood and I might end up doing you a lot more damage than the normal cuts and bruises. I almost broke someone's sternum in the previous class." Arthur winced but continued into the room nonetheless.<p>

"We don't have to spar," he said. "But I do have this period of time in my schedule cleared so I'm not going to be leaving."

Chang nodded her head slightly but didn't make eye contact with him. She was standing with her feet firmly planted and arms crossed with a single long braid down her back. She looked like she could easily take out an entire army. It would surprise Arthur if she would enjoy doing it right now either.

"Do you need someone to talk to?" he asked cautiously. "I'm a great listener."

"No offence Arthur, but of all the people I would like to talk to this about, you're pretty far down the list."

"Is Al on the top?"

Immediately after he said it, he regretted it. Not only did she whip around and look ready to throttle him, but he could see the hurt in deep hurt in her eyes. This was a sensitive issue that he should not have breached.

"Don't. Talk. About. Him," she growled and Arthur took a frightened step back. Almost as soon as she had said it, she sighed and looked down. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have growled at you." She sat down on the ground and placed her head in the ground.

"It's okay," he said, sitting down next to her. "I understand that you lost someone very important to you."

"Do you understand Arthur? Really?" Chang asked, staring at him. He had never noticed how large her eyes really were.

"Yeah. I used to know this girl— don't ask me what her name is because I don't remember— and I remember really loving her. I can't remember her face or her name or what she was like, but I remember being really in love. I don't know what happened to her because I kept her a secret from my father and it was shortly after we… split up or whatever it was that I got my head injury."

"Do you remember anything about her?" she questioned, scooting forward. He shook his head sadly.

"It was after I moved to Xing from Amestris, so she was probably Xingese. It really makes me frustrated that I can't remember."

"Sometimes I wish I had your problem," Chang said, putting her head in her hands again. "I can't even sleep most nights. He promised that he'd be right after me when he died. I didn't want to leave him."

"I'm sorry. But I wouldn't say forgetting would be very helpful. You have to have some memories that you share together that are worthwhile. You gave him part of your life, he gave you part of his, and left some of himself with out. Ten for eleven."

General Chang's head shot up so fast he thought she might have gotten whiplash.

"What did you just say?"

"Oh, uh," he stammered, slightly embarrassed. "It's like alchemy, normally you give ten and get ten, but sometimes if you… I don't know, give some of yourself as well you can give eleven. Obviously it wouldn't work for normal transmutations but if you're trying to apply equivalent exchange to the real world…" He flushed when she continued to look at him as if he had grown a second head. "I used to have a friend who was into alchemy and I like to compare it to life in my free time… What?"

"…nothing."

* * *

><p>He didn't even know how he caught his name, but he did. Arthur was running an errand for one of the higher ups and was walking by the private conference room that had been left ajar when he heard it. He didn't catch in what context it had been used, but he was sure that he had heard it. Backing up, he stood next to the door only to take a step back when the voices came back louder.<p>

"Why not? Why couldn't he be?"

"Because Al is dead!"

"We don't know that! We never found the body."

"Why wouldn't he have come back?"

"Because he doesn't have his memories! Arthur said he got a head injury a few years ago and has had trouble remember things about his past. All he can remember is sitting at his mother's deathbed, having a close friend who studied alchemy, traveling a lot around Amestris, and being in love with a Xingese girl. Those are some of the biggest parts of Al's life!"

"Why are you so determined to make him Al?"

"Why are you so determined to make sure he's not? Don't you want your brother back?"

"Of course I do! But I know better than anyone the consequences of trying to bring someone back to life when they're dead!"

"You should listen to him Princess," Mustang's voice chimed in. "The idea of having Al back is wonderful, but there are something's that should be left to lie, and the dead are among them."

"If you could have the chance to get Lieutenant Hawkeye back, would you take it?" Chang said sharply. There was a hiss and Arthur knew that this Hawkeye was a sensitive subject.

"Yes."

"If there is a chance that Al is alive and that he's Arthur and doesn't know it, I'm going to figure it out. Just let me try. If it doesn't do anything, I'll leave it alone. I'll stop talking about it and I'll let — I'll let Al rest." Without being in the room, Arthur knew that she was lifting her head proudly, probably with hurt swimming in her eyes. How could the men inside refuse her? He knew he couldn't.

"Fine. What do you need?" Elric growled.

"Some photos. All the photos you have. Did you keep any of them?"

"… Yeah. Wi— she made me take some before we left. I have the photo we took when you were with us in Rushvalley. I think I even have the one of us with Mustang that Hughes was going to use for blackmail."

"Good."

* * *

><p>Arthur was waiting for Chang to say something for a week. They sparred every night like they had before but she was acting more on edge as if he was supposed to grow a horn. It was only after a week had passed from the conversation he had overheard that she mentioned anything.<p>

"Arthur, I have a few questions for you," she said, laying a hand on his shoulder. He nodded and smiled at her.

"Yeah, sure." She led him across the room to a small table and they sat at opposite sides. "What do you want?"

"Is this the woman you were in love with?" She slid a photograph across the table and he picked it up.

In the photo was a beautiful young woman. She had long black hair that was held up with multiple braids and blue eyes that were so dark they were almost black. Her dress was definitely Xingese, though the buildings behind her were not.

A man who looked only a few years older had his arm around her. He had blond hair and golden eyes that made it all too clearly how happy he was to be with the woman. The wide smiled helped too. The part that shocked him was how similar he was to Arthur. If the man had black hair, blue eyes, added some scars and a broken nose, and lost a few pounds of muscle he would have been identical to Arthur.

The woman was the one he couldn't remember. He was sure of that. When he looked at the picture he got a warm feeling, as if his body remembered things his mind couldn't.

"That's her. Who is she?" Chang looked at him as if searching his face for the truth.

"And you're not just saying that because it's what I want to hear?" He shook his head. She took a deep breath. "That woman, the one in the photograph, her name is Mei Chang. This picture was taken when she was sixteen in Xiongnu with the man she was in love with. His name was Alphonse Elric."

"Wait, that picture is of you and your fiancé?" That couldn't be possible. It couldn't be. When he had overheard their conversation, he had been expecting her to ask him a few questions that he would politely answer then tell her the truth: he was not who she hoped he was. He hadn't been expecting something like this. He couldn't deny that the woman was the one he had vague impressions of once knowing and loving. To find out that she was none other than General Chang…

"We were in Xiongnu for the wedding of a dignitary there. He bought me this necklace," she said, pulling one out from the neck of her shirt. "It cost him more money than he had and the man who was selling it wasn't going to cut the price. Instead, Al fixed some old pieces for him with alchemy. I told him that he didn't have to and I didn't have to have the necklace, but he insisted. He told me that yes I did need the necklace because he promised Ling that he wasn't going to let some strange foreigner get his meat hooks in his sister. Al laughed and said 'Buying you the necklace is a lot easier than subtly trapping them in holes and chemically changing their drinks into alcohol. A ring—'"

"Might be inappropriate," Arthur said, surprising himself.

"How did you know that?"

"Well you weren't married or engaged at that point to it would obviously… not be appropriate," he finished lamely. The way she was looking at him made him feel awkward.

"Arthur, I need to ask you," Chang began, leaning across the table slightly. "Your head injury that's been causing your memory problems—what did it involve?"

"Uh, blunt force to the head. I think I hit it on a rock or something. I had some deep wounds in the chest. Lost a lot of blood— had to wait months before I could run properly again."

"Three shots?"

"Well, three wounds. I still have the scars. They're small but they went deep." And he did. They had freaked him out at first; then his father had explained. He had to have him to a professional to get them taken care of. Arthur had to work extra hard once he had healed to work of the money his bills had cost. "Why does it matter?"

"Because Al was shot three times in the chest. And no one ever retrieved a body."

"I thought it might come to this. Look, General Chang, I know you think I could be your fiancé, but I promise you I'm not. I am Arthur Dong and always have been."

"On your right arm there's a cluster of small scars, correct?" Arthur stared at her strangely, before rolling up his sleeve to prove her right. "Explain them."

"Well I… I don't know."

"I do. They're from needles. When Ed retrieved your body from the Gate, you were too weak to function like a normal person and they hooked you up to 23 different machines. They tried to put the IVs in the same area so they would only do damage to that area, but they underestimated how weak your skin and blood vessels were. They almost collapsed and they spread the needles out. What about the one on right shoulder?"

"How do you know about—"

"It was a knife. There was an assassination attempt on my life and you took the knife for me, saving my life. Your left leg is covered with scars of all different sizes and shape and that leg doesn't work as well as the other. Shrapnel. The doctors were afraid they would have to amputate and you just joked about how cheap automail would be for you and that people would compare you to Ed even more afterwards. Scar on your right pinky finger. We were making dumpling together and you almost chopped your finger off slicing celery. Right hip, up and to the left three inches. You got shot—"

"How do you know all this? I never told any—"

"Because I was there for it all. I provided the alkahestric focal point for you to sacrifice your body to the Gate for Edward's arm. I pulled out the knife and closed the wound. I was fighting against the guards who were holding be back from the explosions as you screamed in pain. I was with you ever day as your leg healed. Those dumplings were the best I'd ever had because I made them with you. When you got shot we were alone in the middle of the road and I had to remove the bullet myself."

He felt like his world was being spun out of control. This couldn't be real. All the scars she mentioned was real and he had wondered where he had gotten them. With ever injury she mentioned, he could feel a phantom pain in the area. There was a woman screaming his name in the back of his head. But it wasn't his name; she was screaming "Al!"

"No, it can't… I can't."

Chang was standing by his side; how had she gotten there so fast?

"Al?" she asked, placing a hand on his shoulder. He didn't bother moving it. It almost felt like it was supposed to be there. "Or Arthur… I… Here; if this doesn't jog any memories, I promise I'll leave you alone and I won't try to convince you that you're anyone but Arthur."

He looked up into her eyes and saw that she really meant what he said. He wouldn't be surprised that if he didn't end up being her fiancé she'd be so heartbroken that she wouldn't be able to pester anyone about it again. He didn't want to disappoint her, but lying would not only wrong but it would end him in a sticky situation.

He grabbed the second photograph that she was holding out to him and he grabbed it. The picture depicted a group of people; a blond woman and man who were holding two children, another blond man who could only be Alphonse Elric, a Mei Chang that was only a few years older than the last picture she gave him but still younger than the one in front of him. Two other people were in the picture, but the edges cut them off.

"That'd Ed with his family. I wasn't going to be in the picture but—"

"I insisted that you had to be. I didn't want you to be left out." He could hear her breath catch but he didn't pay it much attention. He was too busy trying to make sense of the muddled images that were coming to his head.

"Ed told me that it was supposed to be a family picture and that was when I first told him how much I loved you. He finally agreed, saying that 'I knew she was going to be joining the family one day anyways.' I wanted to smack him, but I knew he was right. You looked questioningly at me, so I asked if Paninya and Mr. Garfeil could be included as well. Ed just gave me 'the look'," he chuckled.

"How did you..."

"I don't know," he answered looking up at her. "I can't remember… but I can… I didn't know what to do for that picture. I didn't want to put my arm around you so I just stood there. Winry told me that I should have put my hand on your shoulder or something. She was the one who finally convinced me to ask you to marry me. Ling took me aside and had an… interesting talk. It was only when I called her and asked her what to do that I actually bought the ring. She was screaming so loud I wasn't sure whether I was hearing her over the phone or from Rushvalley."

"What was she screaming about?" Chang—Mei— asked scooting the chair on the other side of the table over so she could sit close to him.

"She was calling me and idiot as loud as she possibly could. Told me that if I didn't get down on one knee and ask you within 24 hours, she would never bake me an apple pie again. That was the deciding factor."

"I'm glad to know the deciding factor in my engagement was the absence of apple pie. That makes me feel very good about myself."

"Come on! I would have asked you anyways, Winry just streamlined it." Mei snorted and rolled her eyes before leaning forward.

"It really is you, isn't it?"

"I guess so," he smiled. It felt like something had fallen into place, a missing part of him that was back. He couldn't remember everything—not by a long shot. Everything was foggy and muddled, but it was there.

Mei smiled and hugged him so hard it hurt more than when they were sparring.

"I love you," he told her. In response she unwrapped her arms from around his torso and placed them around his neck, kissing him. Al pulled away first.

"I just remembered something," he said, a look of wonder crossing his face.

"What?"

"Where you're ticklish!"

Mei shrieked as he started tickling her and tried to run. He chased after her for a few moments before overcoming her and wrapping her in his arms from behind. She tried to trip him, and they both fell to the floor. They were both laughing hard when the door opened.

"Gen—Brother?"

Ed stared at the sight in front of him, his eyes going wide.

"What the—who—why—what…"

"Hi Brother," Al said. "Good news; I'm not dead."

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><p>"I now pronounce you man and wife."<p>

Al smiled at Mei over the rim of his cup which he quickly dropped as she threw herself at him and they were kissing in front of the entire gathered crowd.

"Geez. Didn't even wait for 'You may now kiss the bride'," Ed commented smartly that Al waved aside.

"Shut up Brother," he told him, kissing Mei again. Ed, shaking his head, joined the crowd of people leaving the room and hurried over to a blond who two children sitting next to her. She wrapped her arms around him and he lifted her up in the air.

"I love you," he told his wife. "I never should have left."

"No, you shouldn't have," Winry agreed. They walked over to the children who were playing with crayons and pieces of paper. While Sara was drawing pictures of cats, Benjamin was making perfect circles and geometric shapes.

"That one's really good. Can you tell me what it does?" Ed asked, squatting by his son. Benny looked up and mumbled the correct answer. Of the children, he was much less willing to accept Ed back into their lives. For once, Ed couldn't help but feel sympathetic for his own father.

"Hey," Al said, coming over. His arm was around Mei's waist and she was cuddling into him as if she never wanted to let go. "You both okay?"

Winry smiled and hugged Al. When she arrived at the desert base, Ed had been the one to greet her. They had shared a very passionate embrace and he led her and the children inside. Everywhere they walked people stared outright but they all ignored them. They arrived at the conference room and Winry walked inside only to find Al, with his hair once again blond and eyes golden. Her eyes instantly filled with tears and she hugged him, calling him an idiot for making them all think he was dead.

"We're fine. Why are you asking about us? You're the one who just got married!"

"Very good observation, Winry," Al said, smiling.

"Oh shut up. So how soon can I expect to be an Aunt!" Al and Mei glanced at each other, blushed, and looked down.

"Probably a while. The UGN hasn't fallen and we're not going to give up just because Al's alive. If anything, this is just going to make us fight harder. We're going to beat them," Mei said, face hardening slightly. Winry looked into her eyes and saw that she meant every word.

"Besides, how can we lose?" Ed said happily, putting his own arm around his wife's waist.

"We have something worth fighting for."

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><p><strong>This is random and a little out of place, I know. It's going to be turned into it's own separate story and maybe I'll take this out when that goes up, but for now it's staying here.<strong>


	26. Broken Wall

**I was really excited to write this because I've had the idea for a very long time. I'm just slightly disappointed with how it turned out :( Because I've had the idea for so long, I have a lot of pieces from it written. First had to find all the pieces. Then as I typed them all up I realized half of them didn't match the current timeline so I had to adjust that. Then when I was reading it through it wasn't connected. One I fixed that there were too many of this and a ton of typos from looking at the paper not the screen. **

**It probably ended up being more work than if I had just written it from scratch. Which makes me mad because I was expecting to have it done early and work on this other story I just got a second wind for (Artemis Fowl/FMA crossover. It's going to be seriously awesome if you want to watch my profile for it)**

**AND A VERY BIG SHOUT OUT FOR 105 REVIEWS! I wanted 100 and not only did I get over 100, but the last chapter has the most for a single chapter! Thanks a ton guys! And congrats to Ultrawolfie who got review numero 100**

**Oh, and if you want to see where Xiongnu and Kinru are, I have a map on my DA profile. It'd going to get updated as we get further into the East so right now it only has those two locations and a few places in Xing, but still if you want to check it out...**

**http :/ /closetfmafan. deviantart .com /#/d51fx56**

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><p>"I am exhausted," Mei said as they walked in the door of the rather large inn. Al smiled and agreed heartily. They had both just come from Prince Xionye's wedding, a very interesting event full of customs both found strange, and were very much looking forward to turning in for the night. Alkrine had asked them to stay the night in the palace, but Mei had declined firmly and told him to tell them where the inn he had made a spot for them in was.<p>

It was a quaint place, nothing compared to some of the places Al had stayed in before when he had a State Alchemist paying, but for the area, it was the finest. The inn bragged twenty rooms for rent and free breakfast. They ever offered a special "honeymoon suite", though they called it something else that neither Al nor Mei could pronounce.

"Hello," a tired voice said, speaking in Xingese. They looked and saw a plain looking woman hunched over a small desk with papers in front of her. "Are you here for a room?"

"Yeah," Mei answered. "My name is Mei Chang and this is Alphonse Elric." Al nodded at her. "Prince Alkrine made reservations for us. We just came from the wedding."

The girl tiredly ran her finger down a sheet of paper and yawned before rummaging around in a drawer for a while. Al and Mei shared a glance and then turned their attention back to the girl when she started talking.

"Here's your key," she said, sliding it across the desk towards them. "Your room is up the stairs, to the left, and the very end of the hall. Enjoy your stay."

"But there's only one key," Mei protested. The girl blinked at her with uncomprehending eyes.

"What's the problem?"

"There's only one key."

"… I'm sorry, what's the problem?"

"One key means one room," Al explained. "We should have two." Once again the girl blinked at them confusedly.

"Why would you have two rooms?"

"Because there are two of us," Mei said, annoyed. She was crossing her arms and tapping her foot, neither of which were very good signs for the girl. She was a Princess in a public place, but she was really tired and her patience had been running thin all day. Al was half convinced she was having… feminine problem.

"… Still not seeing the problem," the girl answered again.

"We need two rooms because there are two of us," she snapped.

"If that's the custom in Xing. Normally newly married couples like to sleep in the same room," the girl said tiredly, running her finger down a different list of paper.

Neither Al nor Mei knew how to react to that one.

"… Excuse me?" Mei said in a strangled voice.

"We are a different culture, if you think that it's inappropriate for married couples to sleep together, that's fine with me. As long as you leave a tip and don't destroy the establishment, I don't care what you do or think," she said in the same tired voice. "And you're going to have to follow our customs for the night, because the room we have reserved for you is the only one available. The rest are occupied."

"Are you serious?"

"Do I look serious?" she said, looking at them throw her half-lidded eyes. "There are no other room. Enjoy your night."

The girl immediately turned her attention to completely spate piece of paper on her desk that contained a lot of red numbers that she was wearily crossing out.

"Excuse me," Al said, but she ignored them. He turned to Mei and shrugged helplessly. "What are we going to do?"

"I don't know. Maybe there's a couch?" she answered hopefully.

"Maybe."

They hurried up the stairs that were just behind the girl and down the hall. There were a lot of doors on both sides of the narrow doorway, but they ignored them all until they came to the end. After a short conversation trying to remember which side she said their room was on, the put the key into the door and opened it.

The room was rather large, but lacking anything but a bathroom and a large bed covered in pillows and blankets. There was a small stand in the corner for luggage, but other than that, it was devoid of any other furnishings.

"No couch."

"Great. What are we going to do?" Mei asked. Al frowned and stared at the gargantuan bed in the middle of the room.

"I could sleep on the floor, I don't mind."

"No!" Mei protested immediately. "I'll sleep on the floor."

"I'm not going to let you sleep on the floor, you're a lady. I'll sleep on the floor."

"Are you implying I'm too weak to spend one night on the floor?" Mei asked, eyes flashing dangerously. Al gulped slightly before shaking his head.

"No, I mean my mother raised me to have respect for women, especially the ones I care about. If there's any way I can do something for you, I will and you'd better accept that. It's been a part of my longer than my body. You take the bed."

"You want to do something for me? Let me sleep on the floor. You make think you're being chivalrous but you're just going to hurt yourself!" Al rolled his eyes and Mei glared. "Why do you think Ling made sure that you got the softest bed in the palace? Your doctor said you aren't supposed to sleep on any hard surfaces."

"I'm not a baby, Mei. And it's been four years since I got my body back and I've probably had a more intense physical therapy program then every before conceived by man. I'll be fine."

"For your information, it's been two years. Your doctor called right before you came to Xing."

"It's still been two years of sparring, running, and climbing mountains. My body's just as strong as yours. So I will take the floor, thank you," Al said, stalking over to the large bed and grabbing two of the numerous pillows and a large plush blanket. He was laying them down on the ground when Mei protested again.

"Oh come on, at least don't put it there! I usually get up during the middle of the night, I could step on you!"

"Now you're just being ridiculous. Stepping on me is not going to seriously injury me for crying out—"

"No, I could do much more damage if you let my blows actually hit you when we're sparring. I don't want to be waking you up."

"I'll be fine!"

"I say no," Mei said, angrily crossing her arms.

"And I say yes."

"I'm of a higher status."

"I'm older."

They stood there in the middle of the room glaring at each other. Finally Al marched across the room and stared grabbing more pillows.

"I said you're not going to—" she yelled, pulling them from his hands.

"I'm building a wall," he snapped back, grabbing them from her. "Neither of us will let the other sleep on the floor so the only logical decision is to both sleep on the bed. It would be definitely improper and inappropriate to do so without some separation. There are more than enough pillows to build some sort of wall. You sleep on one side, I sleep on the other. No problem."

"Oh. Okay," Mei answered, cheeks turning slightly red. She moved to help him move the extra pillows and blankets (if which there were many) into a makeshift barrier down the middle of the bed. They worked for a few moments in silence like that, occasionally ripping a blanket to make the wall stronger. The clean-up crew were probably used to a lot worse, Mei reasoned.

"I'm sorry for snapping," Al muttered as they settled the last few pieced into place.

"It's okay. You can get ready first," she told him. He nodded his head in thanks and disappeared into the bathroom. Mei sat down on her side of the bed. They had only been out together for a week and they were already fighting. It didn't help that everyone was assuming they were married. Things had better get better from here on or it would be a long trip indeed.

When Al came out of the bathroom, Mei was already snoring softly from her side of the bed. He smiled and walked around to the other side, kissed her on the forehead. He imagined that this was what it was like for Brother and Winry. Periods of fighting and hatred followed by moments like this that reminded them (him) why they (he) was in love with each other (her) in the first place.

Then, realizing what he had just thought, he offered a desperate plea that he and Mei (him and anyone, really) never, ever, ending up like his brother and wife.

* * *

><p>Mei didn't want to wake up.<p>

She was having a very lovely dream about Al saving her from… well she couldn't remember what he was saving her from but she remembered how scared she was before he showed up. It was dark and cold and when he came into the dream, everything felt better. After he rescued her, they had escaped on a white horse (who looked an awful lot like Muffin, the horse they had bought from Alkrine's stables. She was a beautiful white mare that was really sweet tempered) and had almost made it back to Xing when her eyes had started to open of their own accord.

"No," she moaned quietly, clamping them shut. It was so warm and she felt very comfortable. She could probably very easily fall back asleep, but she knew that even if she could, the dream was over. It wouldn't be there when she returned to the dream world.

Then something on top of her moved, and it wasn't Xiao Mei. The tiny panda was curled up near her neck and whatever had moved was not furry like her. Trying to take deep breaths to calm herself, Mei opened her eyes and turned her head to get a look at what was moving.

It was Al's arm.

Eyes growing large, Mei had to stop herself from shrieking. The wall they had set up the night before was lying in pieces across the bed, some on the floor. The blanket she had fallen asleep under was still firmly tucked around her, but the rest of the blankets were tangled and messed up.

Al himself was sleeping with his face in a pillow right behind her. One arm was tucked underneath him but the other one was wrapped possessively around her. He was snoring softly.

Red, Mei tried to pull herself out from under his arm, but when she moved he only pulled her closer. When she tried again he rolled over onto his side and pulled her into his chest. He was breathing into her hair and Mei could feel her face getting redder by the second. She was trying to wiggle out of his hold when she heard him muttering something. She stopped moving to listen better, only to hear:

"I love you."

Mei felt her breath catch and she stopped squirming. Were her ears deceiving her? He couldn't actually… did he? She didn't want to get her hopes up. He was asleep so she really didn't know what he was dreaming about. For all she knew, he was dreaming about a dancing dumpling or something like that. But he the way he was holding onto her… No, he's probably just used to holding onto something while he sleeps, the rational part of her brain reasoned.

"Shut up Ed. I really do."

She could feel the hope shatter. Sighing, feeling like crying instead, she reached her hand out to Xiao Mei (who was still sleeping despite the fact that he pillow had already woken up) and woke the panda up. She didn't look happy to missing her shut-eye, but after a few motions from Mei, she crawled over to Al and bit him. Hard.

To put it politely, he woke up saying some not-so-polite words.

"What the… Mei?" he asked dazedly, looking at the girl in his arms. How had she gotten there? He had fallen asleep on his side of the bed… he didn't want to be awake. He had been having a dream about telling Mei that he loved her. Ed had interrupted and he had to stop to yell at his brother before seeing Mei's reaction.

"Now you wake up," she grumbled, rolling away from him. "You were holding me like a teddy bear for at least five minutes." He turned a bright red color.

"I was?"

"Yes you were. And mumbling."

"Mumbling?" he asked, eyes growing large. If he had been mumbling it must have had something to do with his dream which meant she must have… "Mumbling what exactly?"

She didn't look very happy as she replied "Something about Ed." He let loose a breath he hadn't known he was holding. The day before had been awkward with the "receptionist" assuming they were married. If she knew that he actually wished something like that would happen… no it would be better if she didn't know.

"Well, I'm sorry about that."

"The mumbling or the holding?"

"Both," he answered firmly. Now he just had to make sure that she didn't find out what he was really dreaming about. And make sure she didn't overhear any other dreams he might have in the future about her.

"Okay I forgive you. And I want to tell you that what happened yesterday, I'm over it. If we keep acting like that this trip is going to be as unpleasant as unpleasant can be," Mei said, crossing her legs on the bed. Al likewise sat down, being careful to scoot back so that there was plenty of room between them.

"I agree. From now on, no more fighting over silly issues like that. We can take turns giving in." Mei raised her eyebrow.

"Take turns giving in?"

"Yeah, as in, if I gave up and let you sleep on the ground last night, then next time we got into an argument you would let me have my way."

"Fine," Mei answered, rolling her eyes. Not for the first time, Al wanted to smack himself for not realizing how beautiful she was before. "I'll give in first.

"Great," Al said, grinning. "I get to ride in front on Muffin when we go out today."

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><p><strong>Just a little note here at the end: If this made any of you guys feel awkward, the fact that they were sleeping in the same bed, I apologize to you here and now. I made sure that nothing would happen except a lot of blushing and awkwardness. And yes, Al breaking down the wall while he slept was completely accidental. <strong>


	27. Hair Brushes and Braids

**Wow, I actually finished this pretty early. Weird. Anyways, I have also had this one planned for a while but once again it turned out a lot different than I thought it would, mostly because of accursed shortness. I thought it turned out pretty good though. As always, I would love to hear your opinion. YES! YOU! You want to review, you know you do.**

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><p><em>This is Alphonse Elric, writing from an inn near the capital of Kinru of the country Xiongnu. I've decided that the best way to learn from my traveling experience is to record all of my findings so that they can be remembered and compared to other cultures. I don't know why I didn't think of that earlier, because in retrospect it seems rather obvious.<em>

_My traveling companion is the Princess Mei Chang from Xing. We met in Amestris when she was just twelve and both ended up fighting to save the country. I have spent the past two years in Xing learning alkahestry from her. It was after I had mastered the art that I decided it was time to begin my exploration of the Eastern countries and asked the Princess to come with me as we had become good friends._

_Xiongnu is our first stop. We were invited by the Prince Alkrine for his brother's wedding and he graciously got us room and board in an inn near the capital so that we could begin our studies of this culture._

_We have spent four days here, including the wedding, and I have experienced a very interesting a deep rooted culture. The people all have a similar makeup to those in Xing, even though Mei says they're completely different. In Xiongnu the people have darker complexions, but on the whole they could be mistaken for Xingese._

_The Xiongnuese are ruled by an Emperor who has a number of sons, but from the information gathered, the Emperor actually has very little power over the people. Instead, the real source of power is the Supreme Military Leader who is in charge of the military, law enforcement, and regulating all external forces. Apparently he was the one who actually invited us to come to Xiongnu, not Prince Alkrine._

_Because of this, Xiongnu is almost as militaristic as Amestris used to be. They declare a war with Xing every few decades as well as attacking other small countries surrounding them. This has not led to very good foreign relations and as such, I am quite the attraction. No one has ever seen a man with blond hair and only a few have heard of them. Even fewer have ever heard of men with golden eyes and the ones that have, have only heard about the Western Sage having them. I have already been confused for him twice, to my eternal embarrassment._

_Beside the occasional mobbing by men thinking me to be an immortal being, the studying has gone well. Mei and I usually spend our time among the locals talking to them. Most of them can speak Xingese which is a huge relief. I was worried that language was going to be a big barrier between the people and us, but the locals told us that most of the Eastern countries are actually descendants of those from Xing, so most of them speak some form of Xingese. It's likely that the language will be much different from the one spoken in court, but we should be able to communicate._

_The Xiongnuese are very friendly to strangers, despite so many years of hatred between them and Xing. It's true they are slightly cooler towards Mei than they are to me, but…_

"Al?" Al looked up from the paper he was writing on. Mei was standing in the doorway of his room, fingering a brush.

"Yeah, Mei?" he asked dropping his pen into the crack between the pages. She was looking at her feet which meant she was feeling awkward about what she was asking. Whenever she was, he made sure to make her feel as comfortable as he could.

"Would you… uh, can you help me take out my hair?"

"… what?"

"My hair," she repeated, moving further into his room. "I try not to sleep with it up very often because it's gets pretty wild and impossible to style the next day. I can't really do it by myself though."

"Oh, yeah sure."

Al, who had been lying on the bed propped up on his elbows, swung his legs underneath him so he was in a sitting position near the edge of the bed. Mei smiled and sat on the floor in front of him and handed him the brush. Her hair was in two braids that were twisted up into bunds. It was something she had started wearing a lot, but quite frankly Al had no idea how it created, much less where to start taking it apart.

"Uh…"

She turned to look at him.

"You've never actually had to deal with hair styles, have you?"

"Not really," he admitted. "Ed braided his own hair, Winry hated anyone besides her touching her doll's hair and the same applied to her own hair."

"Well it's about time you learned. What if your wife has as much hair as me?"

Al felt his heart beat faster. He tried to keep it under control but it frankly refused to calm down. Was it ridiculous of him to hope that his wife would have exactly the same amount of hair that Mei did? To the length, color, and the head it covered?

"Don't worry, this part is the easiest," she continued, not noticing his inner turmoil. "Pick a side and grab the loop—OW, ow, don't pull on it!"

"Sorry!"

"Just grab it. Now follow the loop to where it's tucked under the bun. There's a pin, just pull it out." Al did so, and to his relief, the pin was easy to remove and the loop fell into a singed braid falling down her back.

"There's going to be another pin…"

With Mei talking him through the steps, he was eventually able to get her hair to fall into a singled (though extremely kinky) stream.

"There," Al proclaimed happily, feeling extremely proud of himself. How on earth did she deal with that much hair ever day?

"Actually," Mei said nervously, fingering a long lock of hair. "Would you mind brushing it?" Al blinked a few times. It was a strange request; she should be capable of brushing her hair herself. He knew she was. She knew he knew she was. Winry had asked Ed to brush her hair before; it hadn't ended very well. Ed had refused and Winry had thrown the brush at him for being insensitive. Was Mei trying to get him to… then Al shook his head.

He was completely overthinking the entire situation.

"Sure." He picked up the brush and began to brush the bottom of her hair. "You have a lot of hair," he said without thinking. Luckily Mei didn't seem to think it was weird and just nodded.

"In Xing being born with a lot of hair is a sign of good luck. I obviously wasn't born with this much, but I had enough that the midwife was sure I'd have a good life."

Al stopped brushing.

"My life makes so much more sense now. I was born bald!" They both laughed and Al continued the brushes' movement.

"Come on, you must have been born with some hair!" Mei protested.

"Yeah, that's true. I did meet you after all." Once again, he spoke without thinking and it was only when the Xingese Princess froze that he realized exactly what he had said.

"A—and um, all of the other people I met on our journeys. And I got one of the best brother's in the world. And that things ended up so well for us in the end. So maybe I did have some," he stuttered. Good job, Elric. That was worth of Ed.

"Of course," Mei answered easily.

_I really hate how awkward this is,_ he thought to himself_. Just shoot me now_.

"Do you remember when your hair was long?" she asked to fill the silence as he continued to brush.

"Please don't bring that up. That was awful. I don't know how Ed deals with it because I couldn't stand it. It was always tickling me, which, admitably, was pretty amazing for the guy who just got his body back, but it got annoying after a while. I don't know how you girls do it every day of your lives."

"Well once you learn how to style it, it's fun to play with. Most girls just put it up in a ponytail or a braid, but if I did that it'd end up too much to handle."

That, Al heartily agreed with.

"The hairdressers must have a lot of fun with your hair."

"Actually, I'm pretty sure they hate me. The first couple of times it was cool, but when they have to do it every day they get fed up. That's why I learned how to do it myself."

"So why am I doing this?"

"Because you need to learn how to style a girl's hair," Mei answered, still keeping her head facing straightforward.

As he was brushing through her hair, he wondered at how soft her hair was. He already knew that it smelled good (though he wouldn't tell a single person that) but he had never actually seen or felt her hair out of their intricate hairdos. It was also longer than he thought. When she was sitting it easily managed to pool around her.

"Why would I need to?"

"I already told you, because your wife will appreciate it. You have no hope of being an Ed or a Mustang, so you might as well do your best to keep up the sweet nice boy. Trust me."

Al had to laugh and soon Mei was joining in. She smiled at him and stood up, giving him a quick hug.

"Thank, Al. You should continue your journal."

Al watched as she walked out of the door and closed the door behind her. He reached for the journal he had set aside and stared at where he had left off. Picking up the pen, he thought about what to say, but couldn't seem to keep the words in his head, only her image. So instead of continuing his record, he placed the pen to the paper.

_I know I should continue with my description of the Xiongnuese people, but there is something that I must confess. It is time to drop all pretenses. During the two years after the Promised Day before I came to Xing, I thought of Mei almost every day. Back then she had a crush on me and I admired her for her strength, both mental and physical. I hoped that when I went to Xing they would end and we could form an actual friendship. We did and I was very happy with it. I asked her to accompany me to the East thinking that it would be much more entertaining to have a companion who I enjoyed being around. However, when he had to stay behind at her brother the Emperor's wedding, I discovered that she was much more than a friend to me._

_I'm in love with her._

_I don't know when I happened, or if it just happened over the whole time I've known her. I guess I always sort of known it, but at the wedding it really hit me. Pretty much every day after that we've been together and I don't know how to act around her. She's only sixteen so I don't want to confess my love or anything like that._

_I'm also scared that she might not feel that way. She used to have a crush on me (to the point where she convinced herself that when I introduced her to my childhood friend, she accused me of cheating on her), but like I said, while we were in Xing we became friends. When I finally came to the realization that I was in love, she said quite plainly that "we would always be the best of friends." I'll be happy with being her friend for the rest of my life, but I want to be more than that. She's such a wonderful person. She's smart, intelligent (yes, they are different), beautiful, creative, confident, strong, crazy, inventive, happy, outgoing, and very independent._

_I don't really know why I'm telling you all of this. Maybe I just need to tell someone. I haven't been able to tell anyone and this is a big issue. Issue? It's not an issue, that implies that it's a problem and it's not. Well maybe it is, because it sure is interfering with the way I'm acting around her. I don't know. _

_I can't deal with this right now. I'll explain more about the customs tomorrow, good night._

_Alphonse Elric_

* * *

><p><strong><em>So from this point on, things are probably going to be less awkward since Al's kinda got things off his chest. The journal will have reoccuring cameos, so don't worry. Sometimes they will be confessions of love and sometimes they will be just talking about the actual customs and such.<em>**

**_Question: In the future (as in a decade from now or so) should the journal get published? And if so, do they keep the mushy parts in it or not? I would just like to hear your opinion._**


	28. Stories and Legends

**You like the Image I gave this story?**

**I had no idea where I was going with this one... but it ended up pretty darn amazing in my opinion. I hope you think the same.**

**I kinda skiped a lot. They've been out for a few months now and Al's 19 now. Mei's still 16 though. I'm not going to be recording every where they go, just bringing up these ones here and this one there. For example, in the beginning journal entry Goddanpai. I took that name directly off the map at the end of the series.**

**Barata however does not belong to me. It actually belongs to Kalirush. If you've read the stories with Al and Mei then you've probably read one of her stories, but she's also wrote this AMAZING story called Homecoming. It talks about what happens 10 years from the Promised Day and it's brillaint AlMei and EdWin and Royai and it's wonderfully consructed and researched and... well I could sing praises about it all day. But in one of her chapters she has Al cooking a meal that he learned to cook from a man from the country Barata. I asked her if I could use the idea and she said I could. So she owns the name of the country, the base (vaugely Indian), and the cuisine. The rest of it I made up myself.**

**(Seriously, you should read her story)**

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><p><em>We spent two weeks in Goddanpai. The people were cautious and did not seem to trust us. They would not answer most of our questions, which made things much more difficult. After the fifth night that we woke up in the inn to find the doors locked and a man with a knife sitting outside, we decided that it was time to leave. We spent one night sleeping outside while waiting for someone to give us a ride to the next town or area. <em>

_Right now we are in the back of a cart full of some form of grain going to a large trading town in Barata. From what they man has told us, it's a fairly conservative country with strange customs, even to the people out here. They apparently don't eat any form of met or animal products because they consider all animals sacred. They have a rigid social caste from what we can tell and Mei and I aren't sure of how we're going to be accepted. Hopefully they make exceptions for foreigners. Mei made me laugh when she started joking about how we can always just tell them that I'm a Western god and that she is my human consort. I'm thinking that might not be the best idea._

_I'll write again once we've found a place to stay, though that may be a while. Hopefully they will afford us lodging and even more preferably two rooms. I still haven't gotten over the room mix up in Xiongnu._

Al closed the journal and tucked the pen he was writing with into his suitcase. The man who was giving them the ride was happily chatting away with Mei about the cuisine from his home town. Somewhere along the way, Mei had become just as interested in trying out the different foods they encountered as Al, though she wasn't quite as enthusiastic about trying them out.

"How far are we until the city?" Al asked, interrupting their conversation.

"I'd say another hour or so," the man said. "You're pretty lucky you guys ran into me, not a lot of people from up North make the effort to deal with the Baratans."

"Really?"

"Yeah, like I told you earlier, they're a strange bunch of people but I find that they also have the best trading materials. You won't find any better pottery and that goes for a lot among the high classes so I can usually trade it for some high quality seeds. My father used to trade with them so I grew up pretty much used to the customs."

"You wouldn't happen to mind sticking around and helping us out, would you?" Al muttered under his breath. The man however caught it and laughed out loud.

"Sorry mister, but just because I'm used to them doesn't mean I want to spend time with them. The lady tells me you're a great adventurer set on seeing the world, so you might as well get used to figuring it out on your own." Mei blushed slightly.

"Great adventurer?" Al questioned in Amestrian. She looked into her lap, the red still dusted across her cheeks.

"Well you are. There probably isn't another person alive who's traveled as much as you and don't you dare tell me that you don't hope to see the world one day because I know that that's a lie."

"Okay I can't deny that I don't want to see and explore the world. It would be fascinating. But in the end I would rather have a happy life with a family. You know… children and a woman I love to be my wife…" his cheeks were turning red as he stared directly at her, unable to take his eyes away from hers. She was turning red and broke contact first.

"Sorry, that was… I don't know where that came from," he apologized, smiling awkwardly. Mei smiled nervously and looked away.

_Why does he have to be so perfect?_ Mei wondered. Even when he's embarrassed!

"Okay, so I have to ask," the man, who had introduced himself to Mei as Jeond, said, looking back at them. "what's the deal with you two? You're obviously travelers, but I've never heard that language before."

"Sorry," Al apologized to him. "I'm from the West, a country called Amestris. You probably haven't heard about it because Xing pretty much blocks us from any other Easter countries. Mei traveled to my country from Xing and I went there myself after she had returned home to learn from her. I wanted to learn more about the countries out here and I asked her to come with me."

"So you're married?"

Sometimes Mei really hated how fast her blushing reaction was because the man started laughing. He had a pleasant laugh, very large and boisterous.

"Okay, I know how to recognize people who get that a lot. My daughter's close friends with a boy from out village and everyone predicts that they're going to get married. Every time someone mentions it she turns the exact same color as you two!"

"Do you think they're going to get married?" Mei asked politely.

"Truthfully," he said, turning around and winking. "Absolutely. The two kids are perfect for each other, only they deny it. Though I think that he has a bigger crush on her than she realizes."

"How old are they?"

"She's twelve. He's fourteen."

"… oh."

* * *

><p>"Here we are," Jeond said as a rather large city came into view. "The biggest trading city in Barata. The people know me pretty well so they'll most likely treat me better than you. Whatever you do, don't mention any eating of animal products. They'll accuse you of killing gods and most likely eat you. I know some personally who made that mistake. They kicked him out pretty fast."<p>

Both of them nodded.

"Since you're planning on sticking around for a bit, I'll introduce you to the man who rents out rooms to traders. He should be able to get you a room."

"Thank you for all you've done, if there's anything we can do for you…" Mei said bowing her head in his direction.

"Nah, it's a pleasure. The conversation has been payment enough."

"You are very kind. If you ever choose to take your trade to Xing, I'd be more than happy than to give you a good mention," Mei said graciously. The man tipped his hat towards her and she laughed. Al smiled as she laughed.

As they entered the town, the people stopped to look. Some called out greetings to Jeond, and some turned back to the work they were doing, but the majority stopped and stared eerily at Al and Mei as they went by. At this point, Al was resigned to the fact that people would stare at him for his blond hair wherever they went. He had suggested dying it a few weeks ago to Mei, but she told him no. He wasn't quite sure why, but she had mumbled something about "perfect".

In about ten or twenty minutes they arrived at a small store looking establishment and stopped Jeond stopped the cart. He tied it up quickly to a fence post and helped Mei out. Al couldn't help but feel a quick stab of jealously before he squashed it. The man had a twelve year old daughter for crying out loud.

Al got out of the cart himself and followed Joend up the small path up to the door which was swung open.

"Joend!" a heavily accented voice cried loudly. "You man!"

"Hello Fakhry, what have you been up to lately?" Joend replied, grinning widely.

"Trying to make up for your last mistake!" the man roared, slapping him on the back. "What have you been up to?"

"I picked up these two on the road. They're interested in learning more about the culture here. Do you have a spot for them in your rooms?" The man, Fakhry, looked them over, his eyes lingering a bit on Al's hair.

"What are they paying with?"

"We can work."

"I don't need anything done." Al looked at Mei worriedly. That was what they normally did. Keeping up with the different types of currencies that had developed was very complicated and they usually managed to get by offering their services in some manner. They had a bit of gold, which almost always worked, but they wanted to save that for another time.

"I can pay for them," Joend offered, but Al shot him down immediately.

"No, you've already done more than enough. You shouldn't have to—"

"What about stories?"

All three of the men turned to look at the Xingese Princess.

"Stories?" Fakhry questioned.

"Stories," Mei confirmed. "We've traveled all over the land and collected thousands of stories and legends which have never before been told. You'll never meet anyone else who can tell the same stories."

"Really? And you're sure about this?"

"Positive."

Even though she literally almost half the size of the large inn-keeper, she was standing with her feet apart and was staring up at him with brave and defiant eyes. _I love her_, Al couldn't help but remark in his head.

Falkhry stared at her for a few more moments then started laughing. It was easy to tell why he and Joend were friends.

"That's more than enough, Shoushu. Your room will be prepared at once and I'll have the clothing sent up to your room. You too, Shoushun," he said turning to Al. Al smiled uncertainty and then walked away, yelling at a boy who stood in the doorway to fetch the proper clothes. Joend stared at them happily.

"That was brilliant," he told Mei, smiling at her. "How did you know?"

"How did I know what?" He chuckled.

"The Baratans value stories over almost anything else. They believe that stories are gifts from the gods and everyone is divinely given. Someone blessed with the art of storytelling is to be treated with the highest honor. I told you they developed some weird customs."

"… they think I'm divinely blessed?"

"Pretty much. So make sure to tell some good ones." Joend smiled at her before climbing back into his cart. "I'll make sure to stick around for it." Then, tipping his hat again, he rode off again.

"Why do we always get confused with something supernatural?" Al wondered out loud.

ASDFGHJKL:

Later that night after a surprisingly filling meal of dozens of vegetables that Al couldn't even name doused in sauces that were spiced with spices he couldn't even say, Al was ushered into his room and told to get dressed in an outfit that he had a lot of trouble putting on. It looked similar to what the men they had passed had been wearing and it wasn't too dissimilar from the common dress in Xing, but he couldn't figure out how to keep it closed.

When he finally did manage to get it to stay on and tie it together, he exited the room to be ushered quickly outside where there were hundreds of lanterns handing in the streets, but no people. It felt awkward and wrong, but the man who was leading him didn't seem to have a problem with it. He hurried him down the street until they ran into another man who was leading Mei in the same direction.

She looked amazing. Her hair, in two braids over each shoulder, was falling from a low but very large braided bun. Like the rest of the locals she was dressed in a pair of large pants and a carefully decorated green wrap. Someone must have given her jewelry because she also wore a delicate headdress and earrings. He tried not to smile to largely at the fact that she was wearing the necklace he gave her.

"Do you know what this is about?" he asked her, hurrying up to her.

"I think this is where I tell our stories."

"Really? They're making such a huge deal out of it." Mei shrugged.

"You're forgetting Al, the gods have given me a divine gift. It's my duty to share it with these people." Al chuckled and smiled as she grabbed his arm. They were led through some back roads until they came to a small platform. Al helped Mei up onto it then climbed on top himself and stopped.

The entire town was gathered in front of the platform, some in chairs and come just on the floor.

"When word gets out that a Shoushu is in town…" Al muttered and Mei giggled before stepping out in front of the crowd. For once, she was thankful for her mother's lessons in etiquette and addressing a large group of people. The hours spent sitting at the knee of the storyteller who loved visiting the capital didn't hurt either.

"Welcome. My name is Mei Chang, and I have been gifted with the gift or legends and myths. Some of the stories I tell you tonight are as real as I am sitting here before you. Others are not. You must find the answer of which are which within yourself."

She sat down on the stool on the stage and Al moved to stand next to her.

"I'll start with a simple one of which there are many versions."

Mei then went on to tell a beautiful story about a child who grew up in horrible poverty with a horrible family. Though the help of fairies and magic she was able to procure one night of happiness in which she meets the prince of the land and they fall desperately in love. Then the night ends and the prince spends the rest of his life trying to find his love. There are many moments when he is close to finding his darling again but the family keeps her away. In the end they finally meet as she cleans his shoes for a spare coin.

Mei had the audience enraptured the whole time she talked, even Al. Of the two brothers, he was always the one more willing to listen to their mother's stories about goblins and fairies. Winry had taken full advantage of that fact and had always chosen to make Al the prince when she would convince them to playing dress up.

When the story came to an end the crowd started calling for more, and Mei, blushing slightly, obliged. She went through at least three more stories, some with happy ending and some without. At the end of the third, she had to stop and ask for a drink. They quickly fetched one for her and she took a moment to drink it down. She moved to leave afterwards but the crowd started screaming and shouting for one more.

"I really must be finishing," she protested, but the cried came louder. She looked desperately in Al's direction and he stood up.

"She cannot finish, because the last story is not her story to tell."

The crowd quieted quickly and he took a deep breath.

"The last tale of the night begins with two children. Two innocent children who lived in a land of ignorance and bliss. These two brothers were gifted beyond anything the world had ever seen because these two children possessed magic, which had been passed down to them by their father who was the greatest mage in the world.

"One day though, the sky turned black and clouds hung heavy in the sky. A disease plagued the land and their mother fell ill and died. The children were heartbroken and decided that they could not survive and chose to spend every moment working to use the magical arts to bring their mother back to life.

"No one had ever managed to do this and the children, ignorant and confident trained and studied so they could attempt to bring those who had been lost to the world back.

"When they finally deemed themselves ready for the task, the readied the spells and the materials. Magic in that world was not a simple matter, it required intricate ingredients and precise wording. So they arranged it and spoke their incantations. Lightning raced through the room and filled the corners. The ingredients roiled and moved but it wasn't right. The children could feel the energy flowing maliciously and tried to end the spell but it was too late. They had guessed wrong and it backfired and stole the older brother's leg and the younger brother's entire body."

Mei watched as Al unfolded his entire life in the form of this magical narrative. He was talking about things she had never heard of and gasped along with the crowd with the man with the scar blew apart Elphon's arm. Even during the Promised Day when Mei knew very well exactly what happened, she still jumped and waited with baited breath as the story continued. When the younger brother, Adwar, begged for the powerful princess mage to help him sacrifice himself for his brother's safety, she got tears in her eyes, remembering how hopeless she felt at that moment.

"Elphon stared as the guardian, not willing to give him anything less than what he deserved. The Guardian stared back, equally determined. He asked, 'What can you give me that you haven't already? What is worth your brother? What can you give me?' and Elphon said in a firm voice, 'I can give you my magic.' 'I don't want your magic,' the guardian answered, laughing. The Elphon grinned, and the Guardian stopped. No one grinned when in his presence. 'No, I'm giving you all of my magic. My ability to do magic.' You see, after years of searching for the final answer that would save his brother, Elphon had encountered more people than he could count, each of which he would suffer for. And he knew that as long as he had them and his brother, magic wouldn't mean anything. The Guardian laughed again and smiled, telling him 'You've finally beaten me. Take your brother home'

"The brother, now united and both with the thing they loved most—each other— returned home where they could rest and live the rest of their lives in peace."

Al finished, bowed, and stepped of the stage and Mei followed him quickly. He was pale and shaking a little.

"That was horrible, I hate speaking in front of people."

"Al… that was…"

"I know it was horrible. I mean they didn't even clap or anything but…"

"No, Al that was amazing. I… that was more amazing than anything I could have done."

"They didn't even applause," he said, starting to turn a little red. Then the man who had led them to the spot appeared, staring at them with something akin to awe.

"Honored ones," he said bowing low. "The Gods have favored you two above all of Shoushu. The stories you have told tonight will be recorded among the greatest of all the stories told by the gods." He bowed low again and when he straightened they saw tears on his face. Mei and Al stared at each other in confusion as he led them back through the streets. Whenever they passed people returning to their homes, the people would bow and praise them. It made them both feel rather awkward and they were quite glad to reach the inn. Joend was leaning against his cart which was once again parked in front of the small inn.

"That was amazing, both of you. I've never heard better. You're pretty lucky…"

"Why?" Al asked, confused.

"I don't think you'll ever have to pay for anything in this town ever again.

* * *

><p><strong>Shuoshu = shuoshu ren = story teller in chinese. This isn't Xing but none of the translators I could find for other AsianOriental/Indian translators came up with Latin alphabet translations. So I went Chinese. *uses the force* You will forget this. *random duplicate of me uses force also* You will review now.**

**:D Geeky Star Wars refrence.**

**(Oh, and yes, I am going to be uploading something for Royai Day tomorrow, and it's going to be fluffy which is hard to get for Royai. I would appriciate it if you guys checked it out :D)**


	29. The Importance of Fathers

**This is my little tribute to Father's Day. I love my daddy :D**

**Golbique also gets it's name directly from the map shown at the end of the series. **

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><p>Al knew things were not going to go well in Golbique when they asked about his father.<p>

Before then, he already hadn't been having a very good day. He and Mei had been on the road the day before and as such had slept on the ground outside. It was threatening to rain and they hadn't brought any tents and only had two blankets for bedding. So he, like the gentleman he was, offered his blanket as their makeshift shelter (one blanket, an armful of wood and some alchemy made a wonderful tent) and used extra clothing for warmth.

It had been hard to fall asleep with the bulky clothing and as soon as he was sure that he was about to fall off to sleep, it had started to rain which had effectively kept him up for another hour or so.

Mei slept like a log throughout the whole thing.

"You'd think I'd be able to sleep through anything, living with Ed," he grumbled to himself as he shifted position again.

Eventually he had been able to drift off to sleep, but it was a fitful sleep full of images of blond men that could destroy whole towns without moving a finger. There was also a short piece about a man in a ridiculous spangled outfit, but he couldn't remember for the life of him what that was about.

Both of them were wet in the morning and they couldn't find anyone on the roads in either direction (_qi_ was a large help in that aspect), so they, sopping wet, set out down the road. Fourteen miles later they ran into a man who had detained them by trying to make them buy supposed "magical beans". Both had politely refused, but the man had been insistent and they finally had to threaten him to let them pass.

If that had not been enough, they had continued to walk on foot until a small town had come into view. Once it did however, they had run into a block in the road which consisted of a number of large boulders and debris. It had taken another hour of alchemy and alkahestry to clear the way.

Then they had finally gotten to the town and spent the next hour or so just trying to find a place to sleep for the night. True to form, everyone time someone caught sight of Al's blond hair they started staring and a) avoiding them like the plague or b) falling over themselves to help out.

To top it all off, the man managing the inn hadn't seemed to trust him from the moment he walked in the door. This mistrust seemed to deepen when Al hesitated in telling the man about his father.

"I repeat," the man said, glaring daggers. "Who's your father?"

"Is this always the way you greet people?" Al answered uncertainly. If anything that made the man angrier.

"I don't treat the spawn of filth. Only those of the highest birth are allowed to stay here. Anyone less can sleep outside with the pigs."

This was one of those moments when he had to love Mei even more than he already did. They were both tired. Their feet were sore, Xiao Mei was very tired and irritated which meant the flow of angry chatter barely stopped, and their backs were hurting from sleeping on the ground the night before.

"Well then I don't think we have an issue here," she said sharply, drawing her spirit from some unknown well. "My name is Mei Chang. My mother was the eldest daughter of Xun-ye Chang, leader of the Chang clan. My father was Feng Xing, Son of the Morning and Emperor of Xing. I come here for—"

"I might have a room for you. But what about him. Is he your slave? A bit exotic, isn't he?"

"No," Mei said sharply, "his ancestry is even more royal than my own."

"Mei," he muttered, trying to stop her.

"His father hailed from the extinct country of Xerxes, where he was the only survivor. Hohenheim was an immortal being who spread the knowledge of alchemy and alkahestry to both the Western and Eastern countries."

The man laughed.

Long and hard.

"That's a good one. I haven't heard someone claiming something that big since… I don't think anyone's ever pulled something that big. Now, in all seriousness, what's your parentage? Yours too, girly."

"I already told you!" Mei said angrily.

"And I'll believe you when you march the Emperor down here and make him tell me himself."

"He'd dead."

"Well, how convenient."

Mei crossed her arms and glared at the man, looking quite impressive for her stature. Al had to smile a little to himself before stepping forward. He clapped his hands and touched them to a nearby table, morphing it into a large model horse. The man's jaw dropped.

"Do you believe me now?" He looked at Al in something close to awe, a reaction which Al was long accustomed to. Even in Amestris, people's jaws dropped at the sight of alchemy, clapping or drawn.

"Are you immortal too?" he whispered.

"No, I'm not," he answered. "Just as mortal as you."

"Well in that case," the man said, closing his mouth and nodding. "I do think I have a room. You're welcome to it."

* * *

><p>"It seems funny, them putting so much emphasize on patriarchal ancestry, don't you think?" Mei asked later as he was pulling out her braids. After further investigation they had found that almost everyone asked about their parentage. It had taken forever, but they had finally found someone to explain to them why.<p>

Golbique was very heavily patriarchal society. The people considered the father to not only be the head of the family and the most important member, but the entire welfare of the family was based on that man. A man whose father was a farmer could only become a farmer in their life. If your father didn't have a good living, you couldn't get a roof over your head if you were visiting.

"How so? I think we've run into a lot weirder out here."

"Well, no it's not weird in itself," she corrected. "It's just that… well neither of us exactly had the model father, did we? I only met my father once in my whole life and that was shortly after I was born. It was traditional for the Emperor to attend a celebration in the clan's providence to celebrate their heir. He attended, kissed my forehead, left, and I didn't see him from that time forward. I was supposed to see him while he was dying, but I got news about Ling leaving for Amestris and decided that was more important. Then when we got back, I went directly to the Chang Providence before heading to the Capital. By the time I got there he was dead."

He unwove the last braid and picked up the brush. Despite his attitude at the beginning of the exercise, he had grown to love the time they spent doing this. It was quite relaxing.

"That's unfortunate," he said, not wanting to say 'I'm sorry'. He knew Mei wasn't the type of person who would want to hear it. She didn't carry much affection for her father. Not knowing him wasn't much of a devastation.

"He was the Emperor. It isn't that unexpected," she shrugged. "But I don't have much respect for my father as a father. I know you love Hohenheim, but you can't deny that he wasn't exactly father of the year."

"No, he wasn't," Al agreed, slightly uncomfortable about the topic. He did love his father; there was no doubt in his mind or heart about that. However he wasn't around for most of Al's life. Al didn't even have any solid memories, just fuzzy pictures. "But he still made the sacrifices where they count. He was willing to sacrifice himself to bring me back."

"Yeah. Ed threatened to knock him out if he ever made a suggestion as stupid as that."

"Yeah." Ed hadn't been the one to tell him that, he had gotten the story from Mustang a few weeks after. He had told serious stories to Al about his brother, but most of those were done while Ed was close to death in the hospital. It was probably the first time the newly promoted Brigadier General had talked about Ed in a serious tone when his brother wasn't close to death or seriously injured.

"He did try to be a good dad to you guys," Mei conceded. "But no one can deny that he still wasn't exactly Father of the Year. I just think it's ironic that the people here put so much stock in something neither of us had much investment in. That's all."

They didn't talk for a while and the only sound in the room was the brush running through Mei's hair. The first few times Al had brushed her hair she had complained about him being too rough. To be honest Al couldn't tell that much of a difference, but of course he didn't have anywhere near as much hair as she did. He had finally gotten the hang of how much pressure to add to the instrument now and could probably get it done much faster than he did. But of course he liked playing with her hair.

"What do you think you'll be like as a father?" Mei asked, breaking the silence.

"What?"

"You. When you get married and have kids of your own. How do you think you'll be?"

"As a father?" he clarified, lifting a lock of hair into his lap so that he could brush out a particularly strong snarl. "I don't know…"

"You have to give me more than that. It's not that complicated of a question."

"Well how do you think you'll be as a mother?" he questioned in return. She didn't answer. "See, it's a more complicated question than you think."

"Well for me it's different. I'm a Princess. Not only a Princess, I'm the Emperor's most favored sister. My life is very different than most people's. When I get married it will probably be to either a foreign Prince or a rich citizen. My children will most likely be given to maids to raise."

"… if you could choose, would you want that life?"

Mei turned around to look at him, raising and eyebrow.

"Al, to be blunt, I spent two or three years dreaming and fantasying about either you or your brother carrying me off on a while horse into the horizon where we could live happily ever after in a castle with twenty-four kids. While I now do not want twenty-four kids, nor have many dreams about white horses or castles, I do not want to be shackled into going to boring tea parties and balls."

"Ling would probably respect that if you told him…" Al said, trying to control his emotions. He wasn't even quite sure what they were himself. He liked the fact that she didn't want to get married to some rich dignitary that Ling would most likely be obligated to marry her off to. That made him happy. Of course he always wasn't sure what she was trying to say at the beginning. Did she no longer fantasize about them eventually falling in love or had she merely given up on being carried into the sunset on a white horse?

Why couldn't feelings be as simple as an equation or an alchemic code? Those were complicated but at least there was solid research to be done.

"I'm sure he would want to, but he has been a rather radicle Emperor so far. He might not want to risk making anyone else angrier. If he did… I would like to think I'd be a good mother. I want kids. I want to be able to raise them the way I never was. Give them a stable family, education, friends… things like that."

"Same here," Al agreed. "You know that Brother promised himself that he would never walk out on Benjamin like Hohenheim did on us. I made the same promise myself. I never want to abandon any child if I can help it. No kid should have to live the way Ed and I did. Of course it is an advantage to the world that we did live the way we did, but still. No one should have to."

He finished brushing the rest of her hair and threw most of it over her shoulder, finger lightly brushing the back of her neck. Mei smiled and stood up, giving him a quick hug before walking to the door.

"We both need to get sleep tonight. Didn't get enough of it last night, and I know you didn't get as much as I did. We've got a lot of exploring to do and a lot of repetition. I'm certain most of the people we're going to run into are going to be just as insistent on knowing our ancestry as the inn keeper was."

Al nodded and she walked out, closing the door behind him. He quickly changed into an old tee-shirt and some more comfortable pants before pulling out the old and still slightly damp blanket. He draped it over the bed and the other blankets before crawling under them himself. He was about to close his eyes and fall asleep when there was a knock on the door.

"Come in?" he answered confusedly.

Mei poked her head inside.

"For what it's worth, Al, I think you'll make a great father."


	30. Just a Couple Passing Through

**Warning: Long author's note. Lots to say.**

**1st: CHAPTER 30! WHOHOO!**

**I am so happy. browse .deviantart ?order =5&q=almei #/d54pl2u Check it out. paper-rust DREW A PICTURE OF MY STORY! This is the first time anyone has ever offered to draw something based on my story so this makes me SO HAPPY! It's based off of one of the previous chapters, Dancing in the Rain. Seriously guys, if you have a DA account, comment and compliment the crap out of her. Make her know that if she draws stuff about my story she's going to get a lot of compliments. She might feel compelled to draw more :D**

**I also was commenting on something non-related to anything of mine (it was a poll about favorite couples and I obviously answered AlMei. The other people who was being vocal about their AlMei love them proceeds to comment on my story saying that she loves this story and she's my biggest fan. Total surprise. Very welcome one though. So that's my little shout out to Ghostruby**

**And since I'm giving her a shout out, I think it's about time to give shout outs to the rest of my anonymous reviewers I don't get to reply to. No, I'm not going to reply to you all here, but I am going to list you guys: MadDel (who left a very heart warming review), mathlete64 (made me giggle as hard as she was), Tsubasa (very nice words), Inali Grimalkin (great advice I am taking to heart), DW (who is actually a close personal friend...), Whitemexicangirl 4ever (you little stalker XP), and spicy burrito (who kinda disapeared :( ). I love all of you guys just as much as I love my signed reviewers! If I missed any of you guys... sorry! I love you too!**

**Also: In this chapter I introduce a little OC of mine. She's going to play a fairly big part in the next few chapters, maybe popping up a little in later years/chapters. She's mostly there to poke fun at how ignorant these guys are being with each each other and for comic relief. She is supposed to be an annoying/funny insert.**

**Which leads me to my last shout out: This character's name is the name of one of my actual friends who is a fan of this story as well. The character is nothing like my friend, but I thought that I should make a mention of her because it is her name. So, shout out to Hieu!**

**Now for the actual story:**

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><p>It was completely silent.<p>

She couldn't even hear the wind moving through the grass or branches. Not a bird was chirping, nor were any other animals. It was completely peaceful.

Hieu loved it.

Living in a small house with a very large family made peace a very rare thing that she didn't get to experience often enough. No one did, especially not her mother. Hieu felt a little guilty for leaving her mother to deal with her little sister when she should be helping out, but if she spent another moment around Hahn she swore she would start screaming.

"I wish something interesting would happen," the girl muttered, but the words came out muffled because her chin was resting on her hands as she lay prostrate on the ground.

Even so, the winds seemed to understand and follow her command.

Not a minute later, she heard someone scream and saw the smoke rising.

* * *

><p>Al let down his hand so that Mei could grab it. They were climbing a particularly steep mountain that both of them were having trouble climbing. He had suggested that they use alchemy to create steps or a ladder, but she had told him that it was unnecessary. Now, an hour later, they were both sweating, out of breath, and quite fed up.<p>

"You sure you still don't want to just create some stairs?"

"I take it back," Mei answered as she used his hand to pull herself up. Her hair had been so carefully controlled that morning and now it was all over the place, especially in her eyes. "Make them."

The only reason they were taking this time to make this journey was because their informant at the bottom of the mountain swore on his life that there was a village with some form of alchemic knowledge. As much as Al wanted to know about every day culture, knowing more about the forms of alchemy and alkahestry that had developed as far east as they were was a first priority. Mei had refused to let him go alone.

"Great." Al said briefly before clapping his hands together and touching them to the mountain. A long case of staircases morphed out of the mountain and after catching their breath, the two set out up the stairs. Though the work was slightly easier, both were already tired and it was still a long way. So it was with much joy that they climbed the last few steps and looked at the sought after town.

It was deserted.

"You've got to be kidding me."

"I am going to kill him when we get back down."

"I'm going to kill him before then."

"How are you going to manage that?"

"… I'll throw something very heavy at him."

Mei giggled a little and Al smiled wearily. They were about to turn around and turn the stairs into a slide when Al caught sight of a trail of smoke rising from the town.

"Mei," he said, catching her by the corner of sleeve. "There's a fire over there."

"What do you think it is?" she asked, moving away from the edge. "You don't think anyone's in danger, do you?"

They shared a brief look before running in the direction of the smoke.

The town was indeed empty as they dodged around houses and abandoned carts. Everything must have been abandoned, either to rush for aid or disappear to wherever everyone was. They had been running for less than two minutes when they heard someone screaming. Without any exchange they simultaneously sped up and found themselves in front of a handful of buildings on fire. It looked like the entire town was congregated there which was not only possible, but likely. Everyone was either hauling water or standing and watching.

The screaming was coming from a worn woman with a small group of children around her. They looked like they could all be related. She was staring at one building in particular, screaming to anyone who would listen.

"My little girl's still inside! Please someone has to save her!"

One of the men was trying to talk to him but she was completely ignoring her.

"We can't send anyone in there, they'll get killed!"

"So will my baby!" she screamed back at him. Mei moved toward her, to see if there was anything she could do to help out. If she could figure out exactly where the girl was she might be able to use alkahestry to get her out.

However, on her way to the woman, she looked behind her to talk to Al only to find him gone.

"Al?"

Then the men started shouting and she looked around just in time to see him disappear into the building the mother had been pointing to.

"That idiot!" she cursed under the breath. She continued on to the mother, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"That man! He just went in, he has to save her, he has to!" The woman was bordering on hysterical and Mei put her hand on her shoulder. Even though they didn't know each other, the woman nodded at her, even squeezing her hand so tight that Mei could hardly feel it after a half a minute.

A collapse somewhere in the building sent up a large shower of sparks and an explosion of smoke in the air.

They heard a loud yell of extreme pain from inside the building.

Mei tightened her grip on the mother's hand. He couldn't be hurt, he couldn't be injured. He couldn't, he couldn't, he couldn't. She could feel her heart beating faster than it was supposed. If he wasn't out in the next minute she would go in there herself.

She had never even told him how she felt about him.

The smoke started to clear a little until the point but there was nothing . Mei crossed her fingers, hoping that he really had managed to make it out_. He had to,_ she told herself sternly. _He's survived much worse_.

But he wasn't back.

So she dropped the mothers hand and stepped forward, blocking her face from the smoke with a sleeve. One of the men tried to warn her, but she ignored him and ran in.

Everything was foggy and there was smoke everywhere. She couldn't see anything. Focusing inward she found the two spots of light that represented Al and the little girl and started fighting her way towards them. There were two lights that meant that both of them were still alive. Doing a quick courtesy sweep, Mei also made sure that the rest of the building was empty, which it was.

"Al!" she shouted.

"Mei! I'm over here!" he shouted and when she squinted she could see him. He was holding the girl in his arms, but both of them were down on the ground. "She got badly injured when the building started to collapse! My foot is trapped, but I can't move it because I can't let go of her."

Mei nodded, not taking the time to ask any more time for questions. Instead she just dropped the markers into the wood and focused as it morphed into a different shape, letting Al free. He pulled himself free and started hurrying towards the large pool of light that was the crowd outside. Mei followed after picking up the knives. She knew without a doubt that without their sense of _qi_ both of them would have gotten lost and all three of them would have died.

Finally they reached the end of the building and ran outside where there was relatively clean air. Without wasting any time, Al laid the girl down on the ground and Mei dropped the same five knives in a perfect circle around her.

There was a long, dirty wound marking most of her shoulder area and it looked like her leg was broken as well. That was the worst of it, though there were burns covering a good portion of her skin. She asked for some water and it was in her hands in a short matter of time. After giving the wound a quick cleaning, she placed her hands to the makeshift circle and the wound closed itself. There was nothing she could do for the leg though, that would have to heal through more traditional means.

As soon as the light cleared, the woman ran over and hugged her daughter.

"She's alive," Mei told her, exhausted. "She has a broken leg and some serious burns I couldn't help, but she'll live."

The woman started crying and thanking Mei profusely. Al smiled down at her and was about to say something , but the words were shoved back down his throat when a powerful force slammed into his chest. He was lucky he didn't fall over. Mei's head was tucked underneath his chin and her only support was her arms around his neck.

"Don't ever do that again!"

"Save someone's life? Might I remind you that you came in after me?" Al laughed, trying to ignore the pain her impact had caused.

"Leave me! I couldn't stand it if you… if… I couldn't… I… I… lov" but she was crying so hard he couldn't understand what she was saying. Instead he just held her tightly, relishing the chance to be so close to her.

"I'm sorry."

"Excuse me." It was one of them men who was fighting the fire. He was standing next to the mother with an arm around her. "Who are you?"

Al looked around at the building that was still burning, the large family gathered on the floor around their rescued daughter and sister, and the Princess hugging and crying into his shirt.

"Just a couple passing though."

* * *

><p>After the whole matter was cleared up and they introduced themselves and their purpose, the mother—she introduced herself as Luh-fi— of the child insisted that they wouldn't be staying anywhere but her home. They tried to tell her that they really didn't think it would be appropriate to burden her when she had almost lost a daughter, but she wouldn't hear of it.<p>

"You saved my daughter's life and therefor the life of this family. This is the smallest of courtesy I can pay."

So they accepted graciously and decided to share the only spare room that she had. She gave them some of her spare bedding and they made some makeshift beds on separate sides of the bed. They were just discussing what to do about food when there was a knock on the door.

Al stood up and answered it, swinging the door open.

"Um, hello…" It was one of the daughters, the second oldest, named Hieu if he remembered correctly, carrying a large try with two plates on it.

"Hi," Mei answered, coming up from behind Al.

"My mother sent me with some food…" the girl said, keeping her head down.

"Thank you," Al said kindly, taking the plates from her. "Is there anything else?"

"Um…" She lifted her head and Al immediately recognized the look in her eyes. He had seen it once before on an eleven year old girl with a very big crush on him. "Can I just tell you that I think you're both amazing? The way you just ran into that fire to save my little sister and the way you saved her life by healing where she got hurt by the collapsing building was just so cool! I want to learn how to be exactly like you! Then I can go around and save people and they'll always be nice!"

Both Al and Mei stared at the girl in confusion and slight shock.

"You two are the most amazing people who have ever come to this town! Earlier today I was begging for something interesting to happen and then you came which not only means that you're awesome and amazing for what you did, but you're also prophesied or something! It's fate! When you get married and have a kid, she is going to be the coolest baby in the whole wide world! She'll have both of you in her! Could you please please please please," here she got down on her knees in front of them, "please_ please_ teach me how to do what you do?"

There was silence in the room as Al and Mei tried to comprehend what she was asking.

"You want us to…" Al started and Mei finished.

"…teach you alkahestry?" She stared at them in confusion.

"Is that what you did to save Hahn's life?"

"Yes."

"Then, YES! Please please please please." She crawled over and grabbed Al's leg. "Please!"

For a moment Al was greatly reminded of two young boys begging a strange hero to take them on as apprentices. His face softened and when Mei saw it she sighed, knowing that the argument was over before it even started.

"We can teach you the basics, but I'm warning you that you won't be able to do that much with it. Not without years of practice," Mei said, sighing. Hieu instantly let go of Al's leg and returned to her position on her knees in front of them.

"Thank you so much!" she gushed, smiling and nodding.

Al smiled down at her, hardly able to wrap his head about how similar this situation was to his own of ten years ago.

"Okay, what you need to know most if you ever want to be able to do anything with alkahestry is called the Dragon's Pulse. If we were going to teach it to you properly, we would throw you on a deserted island with nothing but a knife and tell you to survive for a month." Her eyes widened. Mei just smiled and rolled her eyes. "As it is, we can't do that so I'll just have to explain it to you. Now you have the benefit of having both of us as a teacher. Unlike Mei here, I actually had to learn how to sense it like you will have to."

"What is it?" she asked eagerly.

"It's the force that connects all living things together," Mei cut in.

"This is where the month on an island would be helpful," Al muttered and Mei raised an eyebrow at him.

"Connects all living things?"

"Yes, you see, all things are connected. Rabbits eat grass. Wolves eat rabbits. When wolves die, they decompose and become the nutrients that grass need to live. We eat other living creatures to survive. Because we live, we are connected to this circle, this flow. That's the Dragon's Pulse…

* * *

><p>It turned out that the man who supposedly had knowledge of alchemy had actually died a few years previously. Their informant at the bottom of the mountain had not heard this because the villagers at the top were very private people who avoided asking for help at all costs. They continued to teach Hieu the basics of alkahestry and to be honest, she took to it like a fish to water. In the week or so they stayed with her she already wrapped her head around the whole concept of how qi flowed and how one could learn to sense and control it. She had yet to actually put it into practice and couldn't actually feel it, but it was still rather fast progresses.<p>

However at the end of the week Al and Mei woke up, talked a bit, packed their bags, and went to tell the family their goodbyes. The father was already gone, off to work, but the rest of the children and Luh-fi were just getting ready for the day. Each of the children said goodbye and hugged both of them. Hahn gave them particularly long hugs, Al's lasting a full two minutes. Hieu looked very upset as she told them goodbye, running out of the room as soon as she was done.

"Don't mind Hieu, she looks up to you. Now that you are leaving…" she trailed off, staring after her daughter before looking up and bustling around the kitchen. "I'll have to get you some more food…"

They accepted the food (learning by now that she would insist until they took it anyways) and hugged the family again before setting out again.

Al transmuted the mountain into stairs again, a ladder at steep parts, and they made relatively quick work of getting down. In the town where they first started no one was moving out on a wagon so they started out on a road. Somewhere along the way they would find out where it led.

An hour or so down the road and deep into their conversation a wagon came rattling down the road and as per usual, they jumped out into the road and stopped the man. He was rather short and his voice was weird, but he told them he could go as far as they needed to go.

So Al and Mei hopped in the back and they set out.

An hour later when it was getting hot, the man took off his hat a veritable curtain of hair fell out.

"Hi guys!"

"Hieu! What are you doing here!"

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm driving a cart."

"No, what are you doing here? We're way too far away from your home!"

"That's sort of the point. I'm running away with you two."

"You can't do that. Stop this cart. Go home."

"No."

"Yes! You can't come with us, your mother is probably going crazy with worry!"

"I left her a note. Trust me, if there was anyone on earth that she would trust to take her daughter away from home it'd be you! I'm not going to leave. If you try to make me stop I'll come after you. It would be much easier and safer for me if you let me come because I won't get into as much danger trying to follow you. So really if you want to keep me safe, you'll let me come with you."

Al and Mei stared at the girl. She was smiling widely as she told them that they were forced to kidnap her.

"Well… this is not good."

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><p><strong>"I couldn't stand it if you… if… I couldn't… I… I… lov"<strong>

**SO CLOSE! I just wanted to take this moment and tell you guys that it's causing me pain too. I just have a duty to reality and character and timelines that forces me to inflict this pain upon myself and you, my readers.**

**Sorry. Hope you liked the chapter though!**


	31. Sunburned and Lecturing

**This is in honor of my own sunburn (on my feet of all places. Who the heck gets snuburned on their feet? Me. That's who) and the fact that I don't think Al would even let any student of his go ignorant.**

**Edited for Someone ****Appreciative**

* * *

><p>"Ooowwww…"<p>

She waited for a few more minutes.

"Ooowwww. Ow ow ow!"

"Stop being a baby!"

"That hurts!"

"So? You're being a wimp!"

"Owwww," he whimpered. Mei growled at her male companion and purposefully slapped him on the back. He scared away a flock of birds with his howls of pain.

"Mei, I think that was a little too mean," Hieu said softly, trying to avoid making herself a target. If she had learned anything about the people she had gotten to kidnap her a few months ago, it was that when either of them were mad it was best to avoid making them mad at you. That would cause only pain. And lots of it. As they had just demonstrated.

"I'm just trying to help him and he's complaining. He deserved that. Keep your eyes on the road," Mei snapped back. Hieu sank back into the wagon's seat.

"Now, Al, I know that it hurts, but if you want me to help you can't stop whimpering. It's pathetic and quite honestly beneath the person who's been injured in more ways that I care to know."

"Actually you know about most of them, Mei darling," he ground out through clenched teeth. "Considering most of them have been dealt by your hand."

"Oh please," she growled back. Hieu could see arcs of blue light out of the corner of her eye. "We were sparring. The point of that is to injure the other person."

"I couldn't walk for a—"he winced and a grunted in pain. "—week. That's not a sparring injury. You were trying to kill me."

"I was not trying to kill you Al. Now you're being a drama queen. Or king. And you must have gotten injured before."

"I broke a finger when I was five. Ed pushed be down a tree and I dislocated my shoulder. The extent of my pre-armor day injuries."

Hieu still didn't understand what they meant when they would talk about the "armor days". They would reference it quite often, but never called it anything else. From what she could gather, Al used to wear a rather large suit of armor that he hated wearing. It must have been good protection though, if they were acting as if injuries during those days were nonexistent.

"And you never got sunburned any of those times?"

"Of course I got sunburned, but never this, OW, bad."

"Wimp," Mei muttered and Al growled back at her.

"Um, if you're done arguing, the sun is going down," Hieu said, breaking up their arguing. "I would suggest keeping your eyes peeled for anywhere we can stop for the night. There isn't going to be a town for a while, most likely."

She glanced over her shoulder to look at the two of them. Mei's bangs were falling into her face as she nodded and there was sweat on her forehead. Other than that she looked beautiful, like usual.

Al, on the other hand, was dressed in the loosest clothes he could find. His blond hair was in sharp contrast to his bright red skin. She didn't even know it was possible for a human being to turn that shade of red before he had. The sharp red color covered every inch of his skin except the area that had been protected by his shorts. So far, all the Amestrian had been able to do was groan in pain, argue with Mei, and breathe, though that was painful.

She had to resist the urge to giggle.

Just two days ago, the group had stopped in a sea shore town in the country Haldido. Al, who had been raised in a land-locked country in an even more land locked town and in all his travels had never even set eyes on the ocean, had been ecstatic and insisted that they spend the whole day there. He was aware of the dangers of sun damage; he had spent days at a lake near his home as a boy. He just lost himself in the foreign experience of the waves and ended up falling asleep in the sand.

The poor man hadn't stood a chance.

Mei had been trying to figure out a way to help him out with alkahestry for the past few days, but she hadn't been having any luck. So he had been left in dry agony, only finding relief when they stopped by a well or some water source and soaked his clothes.

"I think that this would be a good place to stop," Mei said and Hieu stopped the horse. The animal had come with them all the way from the village at the bottom of the mountain. She knew that after living an entire life in the village up the mountain, she should know the name, but she had never cared. When she had taken off after the pair, she had been fully expecting them to wrap her up and carry her back kicking and screaming. She hadn't expected for them to actually let her come with her. They must have had some experience with stubborn children before.

Anyways, the beast had gone through a lot of traveling and she liked to give him as many breaks as she could. So she pulled him over to the side of the road where there was a small clearing in the trees. Not large, most of the area would be taken up by the wagon. Which meant they were probably going to have to sleep in the wagon, which was never a fun affair.

"This is where we're stopping for the night, make yourself comfy. Al, please don't move. You're only going to hurt yourself therefor making Mei angry. Then none of us will be happy." Mei smiled sheepishly and mumbled an apology. Then Al made a comment about actually be sorry to say sorry and she got mad. Hieu set up "camp" by herself.

Every night they managed to fit in some sort of alkahestric knowledge. By now she wasn't quite proficient, but she had managed to create a box in the ground a few feet away. Al was completely frustrated that she was picking it up faster than he was. He blamed it on alchemy messing with his brain for too long.

It was that night that she finally brought up an idea that had been bothering her for a while.

"If you use alkahestry to heal serious injuries, would you also be able to bring someone back from the dead? If you could get all the composing elements of a human body it would be easy to create a body. All you would need is to find a way to call back the person's soul from the afterlife…" Hieu trailed off when she saw the looks on her teachers' faces.

"What?"

Al in particular looked scared. Terrified in fact.

"Don't even think about doing something like that!"

"What? Why not?"

"There are lines. Lines that are not supposed to be crossed under any circumstances. Bringing back the dead is one of them," Mei answered. She had never seen the Princess acting so stern.

"How do you know?"

"Because I tried it," Al answered, not staring at her.

"Al," Mei said quietly.

"Mei, if I got anything out of my experience, I've at least gotten the right to be able to warn people. I will tell everyone on the planet my story if it means it will stop them from trying. No one should try to bring back the dead." He looked up so that he was staring directly at her.

"Me and my brother. We tried to bring back our mother when we were kids. It didn't go as planned. The transmutation went wrong. A gateway opened in the middle of the room and it pulled me in. My entire body. And Ed's leg. I would have died if Ed wasn't a genius. He attached my soul to a suit of armor."

"How did he do that?" she whispered. It didn't seem possible that something like this could actually happen.

"I don't know and I don't want to. You have no idea what it was like to live inside that armor. I couldn't sleep or eat. I couldn't feel it when someone hugged me or when Ed have me a high five. It took years for me to be able to hold something without crushing it. I couldn't feel pain or heat or cold. I couldn't smell my best friend's pie.

"After four years of searching for a way to get our bodies back we finally did it. But we were very very lucky."

"Lucky?"

"Yes. We're both still alive and happy. Ed's married and he has a son. I'm traveling around all of these wonderful countries with one of my best friends," Hieu couldn't help but notice the flash of hurt that crossed Mei's face, "and I couldn't be happier. But I'm very lucky. And you want to know the worst part of it all?"

He looked directly at her and Mei touched his arm. He flinched slightly (that sunburn really was a piece of work) before briefly shooting her a grateful quirk of the lips.

"The thing we created, it wasn't even our mother. Ed dug it up a few years after we created it. Our mother had brown hair. It had black hair and the pelvis of a man."

Hieu didn't want to look at him but she couldn't look away from his golden eyes. It was Mei who finally broke his gaze.

"Hieu, to answer your question, no. It's impossible. Everyone who's tried has ended up dead or suffering and in the end you don't even get what you want. There isn't a secret ingredient or formula, it simply can't be done. If you're wise you'll stay away from it. We don't want you to have to go through anything they have. We don't want anyone to go through what they have."

There was silence for a moment.

"I think it's time to go to bed. We've had enough excitement and horror for one night. Bed. Al, do you want me to soak your shirt again?"

"Yes, please. Thank you Mei," he answered politely, but slightly stiffly. She moved away to get some water and Al gingerly crawled under a blanket. He hated sleeping under the blanket with the burn, but it was better than shivering in the middle of the night. Mei returned and soaked his shirt in the water. Hieu climbed under he own blankets and tried to fall asleep. Mei crawled under hers. Hieu turned her back to the couple.

Hours later, after drifting in and out of sleep she overheard their brief conversation.

"I really didn't mean to do that."

"I'm not surprised that you did. Hopefully she can learn from your mistakes."

"I just… I just don't want anyone to make the same mistakes that I have. No one should have to go through what we did, especially not if I had the chance to warn them."

"I understand, Al."

"Thanks, Mei. You're amazing."

"I know Al. Shut up."

He laughed and Hieu heard him roll over. Then just as she was about to drift off into sleep again, she heard one last whispered comment from Mei, so soft that she was sure that Al couldn't have heard it. A quiet

"I love you."


	32. Ganging Up

**I am so sorry about the length on this one guys. It's super short, and I know that it's super short, but I'm struggling this week. I had a hard time focusing and it just wouldn't come... I might be able to come back and write more about it, a few more pranks, but I don't know.**

**This idea was actually inspired by Someone Appreciative (who I assume left the all caps review). She brought to my attention the fact that Xiao Mei kinda is their third wheel. And Hieu kinda makes a second. What will the do ****together...?**

**Note: This takes place before last chapter. Yes, is has been getting cold at night but Al still got sunburned a little later. Clouds actually work as a magnifier. You get burned easier, don't feel it as much.**

* * *

><p>This was the most delicate of operation. It had to go completely according to plan or no one would be happy—least of all her. There was a lot riding on this mission. She moved her hand as carefully as she could. If she messed up even a little… no she couldn't think about it. The consequences would be too severe. It was so close…<p>

She carefully, carefully, slipped her hand under the mass of black and white fur. Xiao Mei twitched and Hieu froze. Not good. She did not want to lose any fingers, which had been known to happen. As far as she knew, alkahestry was not quite developed enough to reattach fingers in the best of circumstances, She was pretty sure that it wouldn't work if said fingers were being digested inside a panda. Or did she spit the fingers out later?

Hieu didn't want to figure that out herself.

So as soon as she had her hand under the panda, she slipped her other hand over the fur so that she wouldn't be able to tell she was being removed from Mei's hair, Xiao Mei's favorite bed. Then she lifted her as slowly and as carefully as she could. There was a lot of careful involved in this mission.

Finally once the panda had been removed from her environment, Hieu moved as quickly as she could, trying not to think about the small teeth biting into her skin and muscle. A blanket went over her head and both of them were cast into darkness. Then she lit the small lantern that the group kept with them at all times.

That was about when Xiao Mei woke up.

Anyone outside the blanket-tent would have heard small muffled shrieks and incoherent commands.

It took over fifteen minutes to get Xiao Mei to decide to not try to bite off Hieu's fingers (sleep had been interrupted. BITE EVERYTHING!), in which she had gotten her teeth around fingers a couple times before Hieu violently shook her off.

"You, panda, are evil," she told the creature savagely. Xiao Mei made another attempt to bite her fingers, but Hieu moved them out of the way. "I need your help."

Xiao Mei stopped and cocked her head to the side.

"You've been around them longer, so you might already know, but I think that Mei likes Al."

The look on the panda's face was much less than impressed. More like bored. With as much facial expression as a panda can have.

"Okay, so you already know this. I think that Al loves her too."

Once again, she did not look impressed.

"Fine. You're a brilliant panda that knows much more than I do," Hieu snapped in a whisper. "But I want to get them together." This finally managed to capture her interest. "At first I really wanted them to get married and have kids simply because they're both really awesome people and any child of theirs would be a) the most amazing person in the world and b) the luckiest child in the world. But now that I know they actually do like each other? They have to get together!"

Xiao Mei made a movement that almost seemed to speak plain Xingese. "What does this have to do with me?"

"I won't be able to do it alone. I need your help. They're both being too stubborn for their own good so we need to make them see just how much they both love each other. I work through the mouth but you have to actually do the pushing. It's much more innocent coming from you… panda that almost bit my fingers off." She made another swipe at Heiu's fingers which very nearly didn't move fast enough.

"Sorry! Xiao Mei that almost bit my fingers off. Will you do it?"

The black and white head nodded quickly before running back to her warm bed in Mei's hair. Hieu lifted the blanket off the ground slightly and hissed in her direction.

"Thank you! And don't you dare try to bite my fingers again!"

* * *

><p>In the morning, Mei and Al woke up ready for another day on the road. Their younger companion seemed a little more tired than usual, but they simply wrote it off as having done a little extra alkahestry practice the night before. Xiao Mei, in a very uncharacteristic manor, was actually up and read before any of the humans. She and Hieu also seemed to be giving each other strange looks. Despite all of this, they still ignored the clues staring them in the face and continued on with their normal morning activities as if nothing was out of the ordinary.<p>

"Do you know where we're going next?" Mei asked Al and he shook his head.

"Gon-ge said that from here out, it should be mostly small farming towns until we reach Vitiong. The road should get us to that point where we can find someone else to give us directions."

Mei nodded and finished rolling up her bedding, throwing it into the back of the cart too. Hieu followed her example and once Al finished taking down their makeshift tent (the nights were getting much colder) he did so too.

It was a fairly brisk morning and they all found themselves rubbing their hands together as they rode along in the cart. As the day progressed more clouds appeared and the temperature steadily dropped. Mei started to shiver. Their normal conversation was slightly stilted. Al looked over at her and had to fight the urge to go over and hug her. It would be too out of place… but it would be out of the ordinary.

Then Xiao Mei started chattering and complaining loudly.

It was highly annoying.

Mei was trying to sush the panda but she continued to chatter.

"I think she's cold," Mei said apologetically.

"Al, please warm her up." Hieu said from the seat.

Both of them stopped and stared at her. She stared directly forward.

"Excuse me?"

"Warm her up. Hug her. Cuddle with her. It will keep all of you warm."

"What about you?"

"I'll just take a blanket and I'll be fine," she replied cheerfully. "I'll be fine, guys. Just keep that panda quiet." Xiao Mei growled at her. Hieu didn't apologize.

"Fine," Al agreed moving closer to Mei. He wrapped her arms around her and she moved onto his lap. Her checks were bright red as she did so and he was turning slightly pink.

"This is really necessary," she mumbled.

Strangely enough, Xiao Mei didn't make a single noise the whole time they were like that.

* * *

><p><strong>Once again, sorry about the length.<strong>


	33. Snow

**Sorry again for the short chapter last week. This one isn't super long either, but I tried my best. I promise there will be a long one coming! Soon! Not quite sure when but it will be there! Probably sometimes in August... :| Sorry. I'm gonna be really busy until then. Hopefully I'm only busy until then... anyways.**

**So yes, is it snowing in this chapter. To most of my readers it is summer and hot. Is it summer and very hot here. Thankfully not muggy and/or dry hot. Just hot. Anyways. But in my timeline these guys are entering winter. So they get snow. And hey, for some of you guys (I think my story stats said 25 or so of you...) that live on the Southern Hemisphere, maybe it is snowing for you!**

**Oh, and this is a shout out for my reader in Kyrgyzstan! You are cool simply because of where you live! Unless you're lying... that wouldn't be very cool...**

* * *

><p>At first he ignored the signs. They had appeared slowly, not very noticeable. Indeed, he thought he was the only one who noticed them at all. It was very likely he was.<p>

_It's just a little,_ he reasoned, trying to shove the hope down._ It doesn't mean anything._

But then it continued.

Some he had to call himself an idiot for not noticing it earlier.

It was so obvious. It had been building for a long time, leaving thunder clouds on the horizon of his mind. Finally, he knew without a doubt that it was true.

"It's snowing!" he called out happily. His female companions looked around at the air around them.

Sure enough, there were small flakes of frozen precipitation falling from the sky.

Mei grinned widely at Al and he returned it.

"No fainting into the snow so I have to dismantle you, alright?" Mei said, smile still in place.

"I hope not. Dismantling my now would be a much harder task then before."

"Not really. It would be putting you back together that would be harder. But, who knows, maybe we'll discover how to reattach limbs in the process. It wouldn't be the first time trying to put you together led to a major alchemic break through."

They both laughed, remembering the small shed in the snow field where a feisty Xingese girl tore apart the binding of a research book to discover the way to save the country. "In pieces" indeed.

Then they looked over to catch the look on Hieu's face and they had to laugh again.

"I'm sorry," Al apologized between laughs. "It's a very long story. With a lot of back story. And tragedy. Actually, I don't know why we're laughing; it isn't a very happy story."

"It's better than a lot of the other stories we could tell about things that have happened in snowy places."

"I don't know, lying in wait for Envy was fairly fun. Yelling at each other, laughing at the look on Envy's face, you trying to shove some more concepts into my head…"

"Which you just did not get," Mei said, shaking her head. "It's not a hard to understand."

"You weren't exactly explaining it very well. Hieu's lucky that you've had the experience of teaching me because if not she'd still be trying to figure out what you were trying to do when you go like this," Al joked, "Humph"ing and placing two fingers near his temple.

"How else was I supposed to explain it? As I told you many times as we were practicing, how would you teach someone to see the color green?"

"Excuses. I taught Hieu how to feel _qi_ fine." Hieu opened her mouth to make an input and was promptly cut off.

"Which you could not have done without me."

"But you wouldn't have had a prayer of teaching her without my help. She would have taken just as long as I did, probably longer thanks to the absence of Izumi Curtis as an alchemy master."

"Guys…"

"I taught you without your help."

"It also took me a year. And you did have my help because I was the one learning. She's not me. Ergo, it would take much longer for you to have taught her without my help."

"Guys…"

"Al it seems as if you're have some issues with this. Is it possible that you're having confidence issues with this?"

"What?"

"Guys!"

"What?" they both asked at the same time.

"It's starting to snow harder… maybe we should pull over?" They looked around and noticed that Hieu was indeed right. The white was falling much faster and in more quantities. It was sticking to each other and starting to layer the ground.

Within the next minute they had alchemized a neat shelter using the wagon and surrounding materials. There was a fire and a pot of water boiling to cook their dinner.

* * *

><p>"It snowed all night," Al remarked the moment he woke up. Mei and Hieu blinked at the bright sunlight reflected up from the bright white snow on the ground. It took them a while to get going, but they eventually had a simple breakfast made, consumed, and cleaned up. Al pulled on a thick sweater that they had purchased in the last town as they girls grabbed some blankets to wrap around themselves.<p>

"I'm going to build a snowman. Anyone want to join?" he said, flattening down the hair that had been disheveled by the sweater.

"A snowman?"

"Yeah. A snowman. Three balls of snow on top of each other with stick arms and facial features of things like coal and carrots?"

Both girls looked at him in confusion. He rolled his eyes.

"I'll just show you when I'm done. Then you'll want to make on, I guarantee. And this one I'm going to make without alchemy." He turned around and started hunting for a large pile of snow. Mei laughed a little and smiled.

"He keeps forgetting that deserts really do have quite the influence on the way people celebrate winter time."

Hieu smiled and Mei smiled back at her. She had been a lot quieter in the past few weeks since they had told her about what had happened to Al. There were moments when she was every inch the same person she was before — hyperactive, annoying, loud, dedicated, worshipping — but then she would have moments when she would simply go quiet and thoughtful. Even though the girl was only four or five years younger than herself, Mei couldn't help but feel a little motherly worry.

"Hieu, you are all right, aren't you? You haven't been acting the same since you found out about what happened to Al." Hieu looked confused, as if Mei had just interrupted her train of thought.

"What? Oh. Well, yeah. I have been. I mean I haven't been. Uh… yeah."

Mei raised an eyebrow.

"Mind telling me what's on your mind?" Xiao Mei, who had before this point been resting comfortably on Mei's shoulder, bolted upright and stared at the girl with wide eyes. Mei frowned at her childhood friend.

"Xiao Mei, if everything—"

"Do you love Al?"

Silence.

Xiao Mei ran jumped off Mei's shoulder and ran the short distance between where she landed and Hieu's fingers which were lying innocently on the ground. They were quickly removed from this position when she noticed the panda coming after them.

"No! Stop it! I told you to—OW!"

"Xiao Mei!" Mei said sharply. She glared at Xiao Mei and the panda galred back, but did remove her teeth from around Heiu's fingers.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow!"

"What was that about? Mei muttered as she drew a quick transmutation in the layer of snow that was developing. Hieu laid her bleeding fingers in the circle and Mei activated it. Soon Al came running towards them shouting.

"What's going on?"

"Nothing," Mei said once he came a little closer. "Xiao Mei just bit Hieu." Al frowned.

"She did?" Mei nodded. "That's odd… do you still have all of your fingers?" he asked, this time addressing Hieu. She nodded and muttered something that sounded a lot like "Evil backstabbing panda".

"You're lucky." Mei snorted and Xiao Mei looked smug. "Do you want me to stay? I can make a snowman with alchemy and just—"

"No, that's okay," Hieu said, slightly too cheerfully as she waved her fingers around. It was good to get blood flowing to the area after alkahestry was used on a wound. "I'll skin and cook her myself. No offence Mei."

"None taken. The threat however has been taken very seriously." Al laughed.

"You'd better watch yourself if you plan on going through seriously with that threat." Then he, stilling chuckling to himself, disappeared. As soon as he was out of sight, Hieu stopped waving her fingers around.

"So, do you love him?"

"I'm sorry, what?" Mei said, looking in Hieu's direction. All she saw was a very large grin before turning her head the other direction. She would not blush. She would not.

"You're in love with Al," Hieu repeated. You will not blush, Mei Chang, you will not, Mei scolded herself.

"That's ridiculous, we're just friends."

"I heard you. After you and Al told me. When he was already half asleep you told him that you love him because he couldn't hear you. But I did."

"Well your hearing must be wrong," Mei said simply, still avoiding looking straight at the other girl. Was she seriously actually feeling a motherly feeling toward her earlier?

"Then why aren't you looking at me?" Mei swore under her breath in Amestrian. Dr. Marcho had tried to get Scar and Yoki to stop swearing as often as they did when he found out that a little girl was going to be traveling with them as well. Unfortunately by that point they had already said, repeated, and explained most of the swear words that would appear in a common foot soldier's vocabulary.

"I'm not looking at you because I'm trying to keep Xiao Mei from attacking you again. She doesn't like when people threaten to cook her over a fire."

"… people have done that before?"

"Edward, Al's brother, isn't her biggest fan. But anyways, you're ridiculous. I never said that."

"Mei…" Once again, Mei pointedly turned her head in the other direction. The coloring was creeping of her face. She was tempted to swear again. "It's only girls here. Al's going to be way too busy with his snowman to come by…"

"No."

"Please."

"I'm not going to admit it."

"But you're not denying it."

"Yes I am!"

"No you're not."

"I am not in love with Alphonse Elric!"

"… excuse me?"

Both girls' heads whipped around fast enough to get whiplash. Al was standing in front of them with snow all over his sweater and a sizeable snowball in his hand.

"Uh…"

Then Hieu scooped up a hand full and threw it directly in Al's face. The cold shocked him enough to make him through his own snowball at her making her squeal. Mei grabbed her own handful and threw it at the Amestrian and he replied in kind.

They all went to bed cold and wet, but breathing hard from laughing and running. Somewhere during the fight either Mei or Al had started using alchemy to create snowballs faster and it had soon become a full out alchemic snow war between the two. Hieu had stepped to the side, knowing full well that she didn't want to get involved in that. As they lay down however, Al couldn't help but notice the way Hieu kept wiggling her eyebrows at Mei. He couldn't guess what it meant, but the words she had shouted before the fight came back to him nice and clear.

"I'm not in love with Alphonse Elric."

As he picked up his journal to document the day, the pen poked a hole in the paper.


	34. Returning Eleven AU

**Another depressing and super long AU from none other than your local (for like, one reader who is one of my personal friends at school) ClosetFMAFan! Whohooo.**

**I've had the climax for this AU idea written for a long time, but I never really did anything. Yesterday I was thinking that it was about time I did another AU and went looking through my files and found this. Thought "Hey, I remember this! It was super cool idea! I'll write that!" And it's probably one of the easiest one-shots I've written. Ever. Which kinda scares me. You'll understand when you're done.**

**The why it's scary that I write it so well/fast/easily.**

**Oh, and 150 REVIEWS BABY! Thank you all so much, everyone's who reviewed! I love you all!**

* * *

><p>Nothing was supposed to go wrong. It was supposed to be a simple journey from the Chang Providence back to the Capital. Mei's favorite cousin was turning eighteen and she had begged Al to come with her as she attended the celebratory event.<p>

Ever since Al and Mei's wedding ten months ago, the entire clan had been enjoying one of its most prosperous times since the dawn of the Xing Empire. Other clans and the Amestrian government were now compelled to trade and do business with the clan, in the hopes of strengthening alliances and trading partners.

With the news of Mei's recent pregnancy, the entire country was overjoyed. The child, though not the first Amestrian/Xingese mix, would be the first one among the higher statuses of both Xing and Amestris. Everyone was excited to see both what the child would be like and what it would do for both country's futures.

So really, nothing was supposed to go wrong. It was supposed to be great.

Until their carriage got stopped in the middle of the road. Al looked at Mei in confusion. The sudden stop had interrupted their discussion about the difference between education in different places ("I learned alchemy in the middle of a city, Mei and, in all honesty, I'm one of the best alchemist is Amestris, the world capital of alchemy. Just because you learned in a cottage in the middle of no-where—"), which they had both been enjoying. Verbally sparring, or debating, was one of their favorite things to do together.

"What's going on?" Al asked. Mei just shook her head, and Al saw a flash of sliver as Mei grabbed one of the knives kept in her sleeve. He grinned.

"I love you."

"I love you too," she answered, before standing up. This wasn't entirely as easy as it sounds what with the sizeable baby bump and the low ceiling of the carriage, but she managed it. Al moved in front of her and opened the carriage door, ready to either stick his head out and ask the driver to continue, or fight, he wasn't sure. There didn't seem to be anything against the ordinary. Then Mei shrieked and he turned around as fast as he could.

Someone was holding a rag to over her face. Al moved towards them but then there was a sharp pain on the back of his neck and he lost consciousness.

Mei slumped to the ground a handful of seconds later.

* * *

><p>When he woke up, it was dark. He was still dressed in the same clothes he had been before, simple Xingese men's clothing. There was a dull pounding behind his eyes which simply did not want to open. He could only tell it was dark because of the absence of light filtering through his eyelids.<p>

"Mei?" he croaked.

"Al?" he heard her answer immediately. "Thank goodness you're awake. I was afraid you weren't going to."

"Course I will," he muttered thickly. Finally he did manage to open his eyes and he smiled at her. She was bent over him, worry and relief a mix on her face. "I'm not going to leave you, Mei."

"You'd better not," she answered, effectively stopping him from replied with a kiss on the lips.

When she pulled away, Al was more able to take stock of the situation. The room was dark, with only a little light being provided by a single light bulb too high for them to reach. His wrists were not bound or held apart so he could easily push himself up. At first he felt a ray of hope (it wouldn't be hard to get out of the situation with alchemy), but then he noticed the array scratched deep into the floor.

"What the…" he muttered, completely and utterly shocked by it. "How on earth did they…"

"They came in a few moments before you woke up, bragging. They paid a man who worked with Mr. Scar during the Promised Day to give them a copy of the array he used to counteract Father's ability to counter alchemy. Then they hired an alchemist to invert the array and turn it into this… does it work?"

Al hesitantly clapped his hands together and touched them to the ground. Nothing happened.

"Never thought that'd happen again," he muttered unhappily. "And they took all of your knives, too?"

Mei nodded.

"What else did they say? Did they say why they captured us? Please tell me that this isn't another one of those groups that is trying to take Ling off the throne."

"Nope," Mei said, sighing and rubbing her hand over her belly. It had become an absentminded habit of hers. It had the helpful effects of calming both her and the baby down, which decreased the frequencies of its kicking. "All they want is money."

Al raised an eyebrow. "Money? That's it? We're just bargaining chips?"

"Apparently."

"… that's just offensive." Mei snorted. "You're a Princess of Xing, the most favored of all the Princesses, and I am a very important Ambassador as well as close friends with the Fuhrer of Amestris. All they want from us is ransom money? Seriously, I am very offended." Mei giggled a little and Al put his arm around her.

"So are they asking for it from Ling or Fuhrer Mustang?"

"Ling. They told me that they only attacked because they thought I was going alone. I don't think that Fuhrer Mustang would have paid a very high ransom on a foreign Princess, even if she is married to one of his Ambassadors."

"Well it's probably a good thing that they got me as well." Mei raised an eyebrow. "If they had only gotten you I would have hunted them down until I knew not a single hair on your head was hurt."

Mei smiled and snuggled closer to her husband.

* * *

><p>Three days later and they hadn't had any contact outside the small room. The array did its job of keeping Al contained and it was etched into the floor which meant he couldn't wear the markings away. There was nothing of use in the room to change it in any way either.<p>

Then the door slammed opened.

"Okay, lady and gentleman," a man said in accented Xingese. "Our situation goes like this. We have two hostages and one man who refuses to pay ransom."

Al and Mei glanced at each other. Ling was refusing to pay?

"So we sent said man a message saying that there would be severe consequences. Now, I don't fancy myself a violent man, but I do fancy myself an honest man. Therefore, there have to be consequences."

The man pulled back his hand and hit Mei in the face. She wasn't expecting it and flew backwards. Thanks to the weight of her pregnancy, she didn't get up as quickly as normal. Al, however, instantly moved to her side.

"Mei!"

"I'm fine, Al," she said, gingerly touching her jaw. She shifted to a sitting position and Al stood up, fully intending to take the man down when he raised his gun and pointed it at Mei. Al froze. If he had had access to alchemy, this would have been no problem. Even if Mei had been in her normal shape, it also would have been no problem. But as it was he would be able to move without the man shooting Mei.

"So, what consequence should it be? I think I know…" he angled the gun downwards, so it was pointing directly at the bump on Mei's stomach. "Bye bye baby,"

"No!" Al yelled, jumping in front of the gun, blocking the line of sight with his own body. The man raised an eyebrow then smirked.

"Oh, he thinks he'll sacrifice himself for his witty baby and his wife. How cute."

"Don't harm them," Al said fiercely.

"Are you volunteering? I honestly don't care who dies, it could be either one of you or the precious little baby. I just need to send a message."

"Take me, then," Al said firmly.

"No!" Mei protested immedietaly. "Al you can't!"

"Mei, please be quiet. You have to get out of here alive. If I can sacrifice myself for anything, I want it to be for someone I love. You can kill me," he said, this time addressing the man, chin held high.

The man smiled cruelly and slammed his gun back into his holster.

"I'm not unreasonable. You get a few minutes to say your goodbyes. Don't do anything you won't regret because I will kill two."

Then he opened the door where two other men with guns stood. Al considered attacking again, but then the man opened the door behind him and two other men with guns walked in, one aiming directly at Al and the other at Mei.

So Al ignored them, turning around to wrap his arms around Mei.

"Al, no you can't… you can't do this. You can't…" she said, shuddering. The hormones had made her a lot more emotional than usual lately, and Al had the feeling that even if there were no hormones involved she would be crying at this point. Any normal woman would have dissolved by now.

"Mei I love you so much. I want you to remember that forever," he said, talking right over her. Mei nodded, tears starting to leak on her face. He smiled and kissed her forehead.

"Ling will pay. If he won't, Brother will make Fuhrer Mustang pay. You are going to get out of here, I promise. When you do, name the baby something special for me, okay?" he whispered before gripping her tighter. Things were moving so fast, what was going on? He didn't want to leave her, but she couldn't.

"I'll name him after the most special man in my life," she muttered into his shirt. He laughed and stroked her hair.

"Please no. Don't curse any child of mine with the name Alphonse. You could name him Edward…"

"No!" Mei protested immediately, pulling away and glaring at him pathetically. "Then he might end up as short as his uncle!"

"Okay, you can decide then." He was smiling but it was strained and quickly faded away. "Tell him that I loved him. Please." Mei nodded franticly.

"Every night. I tell him how his big brave papa sacrificed himself to save us." Al nodded gratefully then pulled her into an embrace again. They stayed that way for what simultaneously felt like years and seconds. Then the door opened again and the first man nodded at the men with the guns. Al looked fearfully at them and Mei clung onto Al even tighter.

"Mei, I just realized something," he whispered. "When I left for the East I wanted to prove one theory. Now I've done it. I'm giving my whole ten, putting some of myself on top," he placed his hands on her bulging belly, "and I'm returning eleven." He kissed her forehead.

The men reached them and grabbed Al by the arms, ripping him from Mei.

"No! Al!"

"I'm returning eleven Mei!" he shouted. "Take it all!"

There were tears on her face again, hadn't she run out?

"I will! I love you Alphonse Elric!" He smiled blissfully.

"I love you too!"

Then the door slammed shut and Mei broke down into more sobs.

* * *

><p>"Do you think they'll live up to their end of the deal?" Ling asked as he paced in circles. Lan Fan stood completely solitary, but the same look of worry was plastered on her face. They had sent representatives to deal with the criminals with the requested money. The majority of the group would accompany Al and Mei back to the palace. However, one of the men, a guard to parallel Lan Fan, was sent with the group to follow the kidnappers back to their base where all of the men would be quickly controlled and brought back to the Capital for swift judgment.<p>

"These men are nothing more than simple scoundrels; all they want is their money. I can't see them doing much damage as long as they get it," she replied calmly, even though she was inwardly worrying herself.

That was when they caught sight of the dust cloud making its way towards them from the distance. As soon as they both caught both were scrambling for any form of sight-enhancing instruments. Ling was the first to get his hands on a pair of binoculars and Lan Fan was left to squint into the distance.

"I see Mei!" he called out happily. "She's riding right in the front; only one person would wear such a pink color. I can't see any blond hair, though."

The Empress smiled softly in response. Good, the Princess was safe. As long as the captors hadn't done anything that might harm the baby, everything would be alright. The group, riding on horses, came closer and closer, but Ling still couldn't see a blond head among them.

When they finally entered the camp, Ling was instantly as the side of the horse with his sister.

"Mei, are you alright?" he asked franticly, trying to help her down. He couldn't see any physical wounds and there was still a healthy swell on her abdomen which mean the baby was safe. She was just staring though…

"Princess," Lan Fan said softly and slowly, the first to notice that there was no Alphonse among the group. "… where is Alphonse?"

Then Mei started sobbing and she threw herself into Ling's arms. Ling held his sister in confusion as the truth slowly dawned on him. His grip tightened and he himself had to hold back tears.

"They didn't give us a body," one of the men said softly to Lan Fan. She nodded, trying to keep her emotions under control. When she looked over and saw the woman she had come to love and respect as a sister crying uncontrollably into her husband's arms… a single tear escaped the corner of her eye.

* * *

><p>"Don't go too far ahead!" Mei called out loud. The five year old boy in front of her grinned and continued to run, soon disappearing over the hill. Winry smiled and held out a hand for Mei who was struggling to work her way up the hill.<p>

"Sorry about the wind. It gets pretty fierce out here around the fall."

"It's fine, I'm just not used to it yet," Mei answered, moving the flowers in her hands to they were shielded from the wind by her body.

"It gets better once we make it over the hill," Winry continued. "The wind almost never disturbs the cemetery, it's one of the greatest things about the position."

The two women continued to trudge up the hill, fighting against the intense wind blowing their way. Mei, who was wearing an outfit similar to her original outfit worn in Amestris, was very annoyed by the constant flapping of the fabric around her. Thankfully, her hair was carefully controlled in her normal style of braids which kept it nicely contained.

"Thank you, Winry," Mei said eventually. "For all that you've done for us. Things in Xing were just… too much. You took us into your home. We love it here so much."

"That's really no need to say thank you," Winry answered, smiling at her close friend and sister-in-law. "We're family, Mei. It's been so much fun having you around. The children love it, especially having their cousin around all the time. He's so innocent and Sara dotes on him. And, despite what you might think, Ed really is on his best behavior when you're around."

Mei laughed but it quickly died when they reached the top of the hill looking down into the cemetery.

Alin was already running into the gate and sprinting around between the gravestones. His blond hair was shining in the sun. Even though it was already apparent that he would inherit Mei's build and face shape, he had his father's eyes, hair, and temperament.

"He's so much like Al," Winry said, sighing. "Every time I look at him I can't help but think of the years we all spent together before alchemy and the State. I know Ed does too."

Mei smiled sadly, calling for her son as they went.

"Alin!" The boy came running towards her, just as eager and energetic as he was as if nothing could sap his energy.

"Yes, Mommy?"

"You need to stay with me for a bit, then you can run as long as you want," Mei said, handing the flowers to Winry and bending down to pick her son up. He was getting much bigger, harder and heavier to pick up. Soon she would have to abandon the practice, but for now she would continue.

Alin nodded happily, wrapping his arms around his mother's neck. With a stubbornness and intelligence worthy of his uncle, Alin already understood the situation surrounding his mother and father. As such he always made sure to do anything and everything he could to comfort his mother.

"Are we going to say 'Hi' to Daddy?" he asked curiously.

"Yes we are," Mei answered. "And we might even stop to say 'Hi' to Grandma and Grandpa too." Alin smiled widely and began talking enthusiastically about the bug he had found sitting on a gravestone before he ran over here.

"And had red and black and there were dots and… and…" he frowned, struggling to find the word. His face scrunched up in annoyance and deep thought. Mei laughed and ruffled the hair on the top of his head before setting him down on the ground at the gate to the graveyard.

"Can you show Mommy where Daddy is?"

The boy nodded and dragged him mother into the cemetery, weaving between grave markers. Winry, following, laughed and smiled at his antics.

"Here we are!" he announced eventually, pointing proudly at a single stone. "There he is, Mommy!"

"Very good," Mei said, kneeling down in front of the stone. The inscription was short, not long winded. It didn't say anything about the wonderful man who had once existed not could is express the love he spread and created. Simply "Alphonse Elric, 1900-1923".

"Hello, Al," she said softly. Alin's voice chirped after hers, harmonizing with Winry's.

"Hi Daddy!"

"Hi, Al."

"We just came by to say that," Mei said, grabbing her son by the waist, "your son is a genius!" Alin giggled and pushed his mother away. "He's only five and he was able to recite the Law of Equivalent Exchange, the Elric Theory of Equivalent Exchange, and then give me the base components of block of wood. And he can already add triple digits."

"Mommy!"

"Now, Alin," she said slightly more seriously. "Your Daddy sacrificed himself for us. You know why, right? Because he—"

"He loves me very very very much!" Alin cried out happily. Mei's lips twitched and she began to tickle his stomach, enticing peals of laughter from the boy.

"Yes he did. And so do I." She kissed him on the top of the head before patting him lightly on the bottom. "Now go ahead and run around."

Alin squealed and ran away, dodging between the gravestones and laughing out loud.

"You're so good with him," Winry said, a smile of her own on her face. "I was not able to deal with Benny that well. I still can't deal with Benny that well."

"Well, Benny is also Edward's son. Not Al's." Winry laughed and agreed.

"He is very much Al's son. Even without ever knowing him, Alin is going to be every inch his father when he grows up." The smile on Mei's face faded slightly and she gazed at the tombstone with sadness.

"I miss him. So much. He would have loved Alin so much. He would have been his pride and joy. Entertaining him with alchemy, bringing home small toys and presents, carrying him around everywhere… Al would have been such an amazing father."

"I know," Winry replied softly. "Of him and Ed, everyone always expected him to be the one to settle down and raise a huge family. And to not be able to do that…" Winry was holding back her own tears now. Mei didn't even have to. The tears had dried up a long time ago.

"Winry… I was wondering if you would mind us staying here a bit longer. I've been thinking about what I want to do for a long time now and I've decided I want Alin to be raised in Amestris. Here in Resembool if we can, Central if we can't. I'm still planning on teaching him how to speak Xingese and understand his mother's culture, but… I really want this. You and Ed wouldn't mind us staying with you for a few more months while I try to find us a home, would you?"

Winry used her finger to wipe away the tear gathering in the corner of her eye.

"Not at all. You stay as long as you need." Winry smiled, smiling. Then she moved back to give Mei a moment alone and went to drop flowers on her parent's grave.

Mei looked out over the graveyard. Al's marker was right next to his parents. A few rows away was where the Rockbells had been laid to rest. Alin had stopped running and was now crouched down, staring at something in the grass. Even though the wind was still blowing fairly hard, it was mostly silent in the area.

Mei sighed, then smiled.

"Thanks for the eleven."


	35. Farewell

**I am so sorry guys. I am soooooo soorrrrryyyy! I didn't update late week and I don't really have an excuse for that. Really really sorry. I'm especially super duper sorry to Cold Flame96 who I promised to have this up by Wednesday and I totally fell through on that. I am so sorry.**

**If it makes up for it at all, I finally finished and uploaded that one AU from forever ago that was really horrible and I promised to redo. Chapter 12, The First Time They Met AU. It probably doesn't though...**

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><p>She was tired of his behavior. For the back few weeks Al simply had not been himself. He had been moody, snapped a lot more, and had taken to scribbling furiously in his journal. Hieu had picked up on it too because she and Mei had already had a handful of discussions about his irregular behavior.<p>

They had hoped that maybe it was just the foul weather, but the sun had shone long enough to not only melt, but dry the snow yesterday and he was still acting the same way. Finally Mei couldn't take it anymore.

"Okay, Al. What's wrong?" Mei said her hands on her hips in front of him.

"What?" He was avoiding even looking at her; just staring at the small notebook in his lap.

"What's wrong? You've been acting like a menstruating female for the past week or two. What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he grunted. She frowned at him.

"Al."

"What?"

"Seriously." She sat down in front of him so he couldn't help but look at her. "Tell me what's wrong."

"It's nothing, Mei. I'm just… I'm just tired."

Mei frowned. He did look tired, but she was almost positive that this… mood of his was the cause and not the other way around. She just couldn't figure out what was causing the mood. It was anything to do with home, they hadn't had any news from Xing in months let along Amestris. A merchant had decided to take his wares further than ever into the country and was able to give them some two month old news. Now, more like six. Was it something she or Hieu said? Or maybe he was just missing his brother?

"Al, I want to help you, just tell me what's wrong."

"Mei, that's not the problem, so please, just let it go," he snapped. This was so out of character she pulled back a little. He sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"I'm sorry. I just need to work through things, okay?"

She nodded after a short mental deliberation. "I'll send Hieu over with the soup." He mumbled a thanks before scribbling in the journal in front of him again. Mei bit her lip. She didn't even know what was bothering him, and that in turn was bothering her.

She didn't like seeing him like this. It was unsettling and off kilter. He never acted this way. More than anything she hoped he would be able to work through whatever was bothering him and continuing on being the man she knew—and loved

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><p>Al was staring, brows furrowed, at the paper in front of him. There were words scrawled over half of its surface, his normally nice handwriting slanted and cramped by frustration.<p>

_I don't know what to do._

_I'm only writing this because I need to vent somewhat. I obviously can't do that to Mei and Hieu… You're the only person I can confide in which is ridiculous because you're a piece of paper bound with more just like you._

_She said she didn't love me._

_She said she didn't love me. Not just "I don't love him" she said "I'm not in love with Alphonse Elric." And I always knew that she probably didn't feel the same way about me that I feel about her, but it's completely different knowing this and then having her say that so directly. I don't know what she and Hieu were talking about but her tone said very clearly that what she said was the final word._

_I don't know what to do._

"I know what you're upset about." Al's back stiffened and he looked up from his journal to look at the oriental girl. Hieu was standing there holding a bowl of steaming soup and innocent look on her face.

"What?"

"I know what you're upset about," she repeated, setting the bowl down in front of him. "You've been angry since the first day it snowed, when Mei said that she didn't love you."

"… I don't know what you're talking about."

She smiled sadly. "I'm ashamed to say that was partly my fault because I was teasing her about her loving you." Normally when Hieu said something was partly her fault, it was all her fault. That was one thing the Amestrian had learned well about the girl.

"You should totally keep trying though," she said happily. "And telling her how you feel wouldn't hurt. I don't think she would react as bad as you seem to think she would." He narrowed his eyes at her.

"What are you talking about?"

"You're in love with her. You're angry that you think she doesn't love you back."

Al didn't even bother denying it. At this point he didn't care too much if she knew because Mei had already made her feelings clear. Instead he contented himself to rubbing his temples.

"What do you want Hieu?"

"I'm bringing you your soup," she said brightly. He rolled his eyes but the corners of his mouth did twitch upward slightly.

"Goodnight, Hieu."

She smiled widely and turned to walk away from him when she turned around. "Actually I was hoping that you would join me and Mei for my alkahestry lesson. You haven't attended for a while…"

"I'm sorry, but I have to decline."

She pursed her lips and pouted but he just shook his head again. After mumbling a disappointed "Fine", she continued away from him and towards Mei who was sitting with her own bowl of soup.

_I still don't know what to do._

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><p>He had no intention of coming joining his female companions, but when the lost the ability to feel the tips of his fingers, he also lost the ability to stay away from the fire they were huddled around. So he stood up and walked over to them, plopping himself down without ceremony or greeting.<p>

Both turned to look at him, but Mei looked away almost immediately. At a previous time Al would have winced or something else but he couldn't bring himself to care much. Hieu however continued to stare at him until Mei captured her attention.

"There's very little difference between directing the energy to an object and through an object. For example, you have one circle inscribed on the ground in front of you. One circle is inscribed on a tree and you're trying to make a fist from the tree to… punch someone on the face. That is directing energy to an object instead of through an object. The differences seem subtle, but in the wrong situation they can be perilous.

"Normally with alkahestry, you don't need to know the exact chemical makeup of every item you're working with. Just the simple composition of the ground the energy is traveling through. But in the case of directing the energy to an object, you do need to know more specifics than just that. If you practice enough, it isn't much of a problem, but it is something that you should be aware of."

"Do you have any tips for me for how to do this?"

"Practice," both Mei and Al said at the same time. They glanced at each other, then glanced away.

"You have to practice a lot. It takes a lot of memorization and practice to be able to do it correctly and quickly. Al had the advantage of having been doing alchemy for years where you do need to know the composition of almost everything so that wasn't a problem for him. You however are going to have to work on that. My master told me to make it a game. Try to figure out what everything around you is made of. At first, don't try to do anything unless you're positive you're correct. As time goes on you can slowly—and I mean slowly—wean yourself off it."

Hieu was nodding rapidly and very obviously taking notes in her head.

"Any questions?"

There was a brief bout of clarifications then a quick test. After Hieu passed, Mei proclaimed her knowledgeable on the subject and started putting away her kunai. Al, who felt warm enough to brave the outskirts of camp, stood up to walk away when Hieu spoke up.

"I have something I need to say," she said shyly. Both turned to look at her and she smiled awkwardly. "Uh, well, I want to go home."

There was a brief silence.

"What?"

"I've been thinking about it for a while. I've been traveling with you for… eight, nine months? We never really got around to medical alkahestry, but I can make shapes in the ground five feet away. That was really all I ever wanted to learn. And you've both been really nice and I've loved traveling with you, but it's been a long time since I've gone home. I miss them. And, like you said, what I really need right now is just a lot of practice. That's all stuff I can do by myself."

Al and Mei stared at her for a few seconds before Al laughed. It was the first time either girls had heard him laugh in the past few weeks (very strange for Alphonse) and, though they weren't quite sure of the reason, they both smiled.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have laughed. It just reminded me about me and my brother. How much we used to miss home after months on the road."

"Are you sure, Hieu?" She nodded.

"It's been long enough. I even looked at a map last time where were in a town. It wasn't a very good one, not at all anything like the ones you've shown me from Amestris, but it was good enough to tell me that if I can make it through the Quanglie Mountain Pass, then I should be able to make it home in two or three weeks. Along the way I'll pass that one town that you guys saved from an avalanche. They said that if any of us ever came back they would gladly give us anything that we needed, so I can stop there about half way through and they'll give me supplies. That should be enough to get home."

They didn't answer her.

"I've thought this through…"

"You really want to go?" Mei asked, quieter than usual. Hieu simply nodded.

"In that case…" Al started, "we weren't able to stop you from coming with us, why on earth would we be able to stop you from leaving?

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><p>The planning and gathering took a day or two. Each of them individually made sure that the rout she was taking would indeed be the fastest and the easiest. They gathered various supplies and had to check and double check that she would have everything she needed.<p>

The planning took up enough time that Al was forced to discontinue his self-depressing thoughts. He was still feeling rather awful about the whole ordeal, but it had taken a backseat to the flurry of action and planning.

Finally things were ready. Everything was loaded up into the cart which Hieu would be taking home with her. That would leave Al and Mei to return to their pervious pattern of walking and/or hitchhiking, but they had done it before easily enough.

Hieu hugged Mei tightly and Mei hugged back, smiling gently.

"You're like the big sister I've always wanted," Hieu said, smiling widely. Mei blushed slightly and gave her a second hug. Then Hieu threw her arms around Al. He patted her on the back and was about to give her some good last-minute advice when she started whispering in his own ear,

"Don't give up on Mei. You two are too cute together to not get together." Then she skipped away happily, hopping into the cart and waving to them. With a few practiced movements and words, the old horse that had dragged the cart for months started moving and pulled the oriental girl away.

And before she got out of view, she turned around and gave them one last comment:

"And I'd better get an invite to your wedding!"

Mei contemplated yelling something back at her but held her tongue. She might end up saying something she'd regret.

"I'm going to miss her," Al said, rolling his eyes and smiling, even though her comment made an uncomfortable twang in his chest.

"Really?"

"…eh... Yes. I will. I'll miss the cart at least."

"You are a jerk."

"You don't really mean that, do you?"

"Well you've been acting like it this week…" Al winced.

"Sorry. I can't believe it happened again."

"Again?"

"Well um. I've done something like this before," he admitted, staring at the horizon where Hieu's cart was disappearing. "It was while I was in the armor, before we met you. We had just scratched the surface of the homunculus' plot and Ed had gotten pretty beat up. Sergeant Brosh had to move him in a wheelchair for a lot of the time we were there." He was rambling and he knew it.

"But that's, uh, not important. Well Ed was the only one who could sneak into the building—before he got beat up and sent to the hospital—and I stayed outside and fought with the guard they sent, who was just like me. Soul bond to armor. Barry the Chopper, you've heard about him right?"

Mei nodded. "Yes."

"Well we were talking while we fought and he was trying to convince me that I didn't exist. That Alphonse Elric didn't exist. He told me that Ed created me after losing his mother because he was lonely."

"You didn't believe him did you?"

"Not at first." The look on his face was clearly pained. "But as we were stuck in the hospital, I couldn't help but think about a bunch of small stupid things that Ed had said and that I couldn't remember my seventh birthday. I eventually started to believe him. Thankfully, Winry was there to knock—literally, she threw her wench at me—some sense into me." He sighed heavily.

"But I've done it again. I've let a stupid comment... fester and I'm sorry. I've been a jerk."

Mei stared at him for a long time. For a moment Al was afraid that she was angry at him. Then she smiled and launched herself at him in one of her signature tackle-hugs.

"You're back!"

Al laughed a bit wrapping his arms around her. He was interested to see how things would go from here. It still hurt. It still hurt a lot. And it would probably continue to hurt for a very long time. But right now with her arms hugging him (very tightly), he felt like he could maybe manage to make it through.

And if she truly didn't love him… Al was a patient man. And just as determined as his brother.

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><p><strong>So Al went into one of his Episode 9 episodes (XP), Mei got mad, Hieu tried to fix things, Hieu went home, Al's now determined to do whatever her can to either wait outwin Mei's heart, and ClosetFMAFan begs for your forgiveness once again! Hahaha!**

**Please give it.**


	36. Sliding

Nine words. Nine words of a sentence not even completed. That's all it took. They were easy words, repeated often enough. But for some reason, this time they led to something much different to anything they had ever expected.

"Hello, we're visitors here and would like to know—"

That was when things got… crazy.

"Visitors!" There was a flurry of activity as everyone in the small shop they had entered turned to stare at them. Then there were shouts of excitement as they all rushed over asking questions at rapid speeds and tones.

"Follow me, follow me!" the store clerk, the man they had originally talked to, said happily, gesturing at them. Al and Mei shot each other confused looks before following the man. The group went with them. This had to be the strangest and most enthusiastic greeting yet.

"We are so glad you come!"

"Come with me!"

"Visitors!"

"Guests!"

"—stay with me!"

"My home—"

"Visitor's!"

"—the honor would be—"

"—so long!"

"No, you must—"

"Come here!"

It was almost deafening. Mei shrieked slightly when one man tried to physically grab her and Al pulled her closer to him. It was a protective instinct that he had always had when it came to protecting others—partly developed from a lack of worry about himself—but keeping her near him was not, nor necessary. He still did it.

They were pushed down the dirt road until reaching the largest building in the entire town.

"Is that where we're going to stay?" Al tried to ask Mei over the noise, but it was lost. She saw his lips moving but couldn't make out what he was trying to say. The crowd continued to babble indistinguishably and push them towards the building.

A group of three men, no doubt drawn out by the noise, met them at the front of the building. As soon as the crowd caught sight of the men, the chatter stopped.

The man in front, bald and wearing dark shades of green, stepped forward and bowed low to both Mei and Al. They did so back to him and he frowned and bowed even lower. Not knowing whether they should try to bow even lower than him, they cast each other even more confused looks.

"Welcome to our small town," the man said, stopping them from taking further action. "We are honored that you would seek to stop here."

"Thank you for having us," Al said politely. "My name is Alphonse Elric—" the man bowed again "—an alchemist from the Western country of Amestris, and this is Mei Chang, Princess of Xing. We—" the man raised an eyebrow slightly but still bowed again, in her direction. "—wish to stay here for a few days and study the customs and traditions of your people. Is that agreeable?"

Al had long ago learned that it was better to be over polite than the opposite. They had so far only run into one town/country that had acted favorably towards an abandon of formalities.

"Most agreeable!" the man replied, smiling hugely. "I am Lonhi, leader of this people. I seek my instruction directly from the Huangdi." From what they could gather, the Huangdi was the leader of the country. Functioning as almost an Emperor, he was in control of a great deal of land. Apparently getting instruction directly from him was an honor.

"We are honored that you choose to stay with our people. We do not normally receive strangers that travel with their female companions. Would you care for your own establishments, or do you wish to remain together?"

"Do you mean rooms? Separate rooms, yes, but we would like to stick together."

The men in front of them all frowned in slight confusion and a few of the people in the crowd began to murmur quiet comments to each other. Then, as if getting hit in the head by a sun beam, Lonhi's face lit up.

"Ah! I see! You are together, but are not yet bound!"

"Uh…" Al stared at Mei, looking for help, but she shrugged. "Yes?"

"I see!" He smiled even wider then nodded to one of the men who hurried into the building behind them.

"We shall have just the place for you! Oh yes, a perfect place. You can take their place!"

"… Excuse me?"

"Come, come, we will lead the way! They will be so honored to have you!"

They followed the man, confused, as he led them down a completely different road. The rest of the crowd that had led them to that point dissipated, some of them looking disappointed. A couple of them stayed behind and watched Al and Mei jealously as they walked down the road.

"Where are we going?"

"To the home of Vuhn. As I said, they will be so pleased to have this honor!"

"What honor?" Mei asked, completely and absolutely confused.

"They will give you their home of course! It is an honor from the gods to have guests."

"From the gods again, eh?" Al asked under his breath. Mei smirked in her direction.

"So you are taking us to a place where we can stay for the next few days?"

"Yes!"

Thinking that it was odd they took so much formality for such a small issue, Al shrugged. They had run into a great deal of odd customs, how could he begrudge this? Since visitors were apparently "gifts from the gods"—honestly, how many times where they going to be taken for something divine or divinely sent? —maybe they thought they had no right but to make sure a fuss over the issue.

He led them to a rather large home with at least a second or third story. The architecture wasn't extravagant, but still displayed a great deal of wealth. Lonhi moved forward as if to knock on the door but a man stepped forward from the doorway first. He bowed.

"Honorable Lonhi. We welcome you. What is your will?"

"These two strangers—" the man's eyes lit up when he caught sight of Al and Mei "—seek lodging. We thought that your home might be the best suited." The man nodded.

"My wife will be honored—"

"Actually, these two travel together. They may receive pleasure from each other."

This comment caused Al and Mei to a) blush b) look at each other c) look away from each other d) make some inhuman noises and e) be even more confused.

The man raised an eyebrow, looked over at them, nodded, and then stepped aside.

"I welcome you. The honor is tremendous." They walked into the house, nodding and smiling at the man in thanks. They were expecting him to follow them into the house, but he closed the door behind him, keeping them inside. A small girl ran past them holding a large bundle of clothes in her arms. When she saw them however she stopped and stared unabashedly.

"Who are you?"

"… guests?"

As if this summed everything up, she nodded. "The mistress is upstairs and she'll be waiting for you."

"… uh, we're together?" Al said, pointing at Mei. It seemed to have made a difference to the man, though he didn't know how or why. It must have because her eyes widened.

"Oh. Then the mistress must be informed. Do you still wish for her or do you…"

"No," Mei said, something dawning on her. "No, he will not." The servant looked to Al for confirmation and he nodded.

"Then I'll tell her to leave. The Master will want her." She bustled away, heading for the stairs. It was a lovely staircase, winding and with a long banister. Al hadn't expected to see something so familiar so far East but apparently artistry in staircases was not something respected only in the West.

"So have you figured it out, because I'm still in the dark."

"I think I've heard of this town before. It's… I didn't believe the man who told me because it was so outlandish but… these people consider guests to be the greatest honor and afford them every… indulgence."

"Okay?"

"Basically, he just gave us his position," she said bluntly. "You're the Master of the house. If I wasn't here, his wife would treat you like you were her husband." His eyebrows raised.

"… are you serious?"

"Yes. I am."

"… well. Hmm. Well."

"Exactly."

"… so everyone considers this our house?"

"Pretty much."

"I don't know about you but I'm dying to slide down that stair rail."

It was so unexpected that she had to laugh. It was only when she was done and looked up at his face that she realized he was serious. She bit her lip.

"Do you think we can?" Al raised an eyebrow.

"They asked us if we wanted their spouses. I don't think they'll mind us sliding down their stair rails."

Mei thought about it for a few seconds before nodding.

"I want to go first."

"Are you sure? If I go down first I can catch you at the bottom." His voice lifted up in a teasing manner and Mei grinned. She just didn't know he was secretly hoping she'd take him up on the offer.

"Okay, fine. But if you dare drop me, there won't be a single happy Amestrian east of Xing." Al joined her in her grinning and ran up the steps as fast as he could. They ran past a servant on the stairs who bowed to them politely. Al nodded back as he ascended but other than that ignored her. Mei was catching up to him.

Blessing whatever mix of genes that had allowed him long legs he started taking two steps at a time. He heard Mei shouting indignantly as she fell behind again.

"Not fair, Elric!"

"Very fair, Chang! Just because you're short doesn't change the rul—argh!"

In his haste to climb the steps and his insistence in leaving snarky comments at his companion, Al face planted on the stairs.

Mei was laughing as she hurried past him, but then stopped when he didn't continue moving.

"Al? Al, are you all right?"

He groaned loudly.

"Al?" She crouched down at his side, pushing a bit of hair out of her face. He was moving pretty fast, at that speed falling on the stairs might have done him a seriously injury. "Al?"

Then he bolted up and started running again.

"Hey!" she shouted angrily, following as quickly as she could. "That was dirty!"

"Says you!" he laughed, out of breath, already at the top of the stairs. She ran up the last few steps and hit him on the arm. Despite the size of her fists, he still winced and started rubbing the area.

"You always fight dirty when we spar!"

"You know just as well as I do that fighting fair is only going to get you killed. But this wasn't a spar you have no excuse!" He continued to laugh, having trouble catching his breath. It had been too long since they had rigorously trained and it was a long flight of stairs.

"I apologize, Princess Chang. Does this you're going to object to letting me go down first and catching you at the bottom?"

Mei rolled her eyes theatrically before gesturing to the banister. He threw her a smile that she tried to deny made her heart flutter a little bit and swung his leg over the rail before sliding down the length. She followed him quickly, with about a twenty second window for him to get off the railing and prepare himself to catch her. She was sure that he hadn't actually expected her to take him up on the offer to catch him at the bottom of the stairs.

And she wasn't complaining that he was amiable to going through with it.

It was exhilarating. As a princess she hadn't gotten the opportunity to slide down a stair rail since she was a little girl, no more than five. Even then it was only in the upmost secrecy when she was sure that there was no one else but Rou around to tell on her. They would run up the stairs and slide down as many times as there were no servants in the way. She had to admit that it was much more exciting to think that Al was at the bottom waiting for her than her childhood friend.

Her eyes were squeezed sight so it was only when she felt an absence of support beneath her that she realized that it was over. There was a split second when she was afraid that he wouldn't catch her, but then she landed neatly in his arms.

He was laughing almost as hard as she was. Even so she was hyper-aware of his strong arms supporting her and how close they were.

"Again?" he asked.

"Oh, please, yes."

They ran up again and repeated the same process, Mei landing neatly in his arms again. They slid down the railing at least five times before finally stopping when they received a shocked look from one of the servants.

"We probably—" Laughter "—shouldn't have taken—" More laughter "—such advantage of their hospitality."

"No, probably—" giggle. "—not."

"Oh, man that was too much fun, I can't even feel ashamed."

Mei heartily agreed.

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><p><strong>This chapter had two heavy influences. a) Gail Carson Levine. I wish I could say I came up with the whole adorable cute sliding down the stair rail thing, but it belongs to her. I was re-reading Ella Enchanted (very high on my list of best children's books) about a week ago and as I was reading the scene after Sir Peter's wedding when Ella and Char are sliding down the stair rail... it was just such a strong AlMei scene I had to rewrite it for my own purposes.<strong>

**b) The Travels of Marco Polo. He actually wrote about this place. You can check it out yourself. Find a PDF copy of his journal online. It's chapter 38, the place is called Kamul, and the chapter sub title is "Of the district of Kamul and of some peculiar customs respecting the entertainment of strangers". Not lying. **


	37. Cats and Dogs

**I'm sorry about the shortness on this one! But I couldn't really figure out how to make it longer without dragging things out and quite frankly I'm very tired. I also really**

**Really**

_**Really**_

_**Really**_

**REALLY**

_**REALLY**_

_**REALLY**_

**DON'T WANT TO GO BACK TO SCHOOL!**

**I'll start crying now while you read the story.**

**Oh, and 175 reviews! Pretty cool! Thank you so much guys!**

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><p><em>For the past few weeks we've been traveling around a rather large country called Nerobique. We weren't able to look at a map until about a week ago and have learned that it's actually rather close to the Xiongnu. The people on the Western border often come to arms with the country. Because of this the people on that side of the country are often inhospitable towards visitors, but we've found the people we've encountered so far very hospitable.<em>

_The weather is starting to warm up again, but it's still rather cold. I blame that more on location than time of the year. We are gaining in latitude which naturally means that it's going to stay a little cooler._

_I'm excited for the next town. We were told that there was a lot of good food to be found there. I've been fascinated with food ever since I was sixteen and the opportunity to be out here trying so many different kinds and textures and tastes is such a pleasurable experience. It's probably one of my favorite parts about this whole journey, except spending so much time with Mei._

_We're going to be reaching the city tomorrow. More later after we have arrived and found lodging._

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><p>The minute Al walked through the border of the town he knew he was going to like it there. There were food everywhere. He had been impressed with the sheer amount and diversity to be found in the streets of Xing and this matched it, if not surpassing. A good portion of the restaurants were busy with a lot of customers which had to be anticipated considering the hour.<p>

There were a handful of shops that we're too busy, one far down the road that looked like it coupled as a butcher's shop. The one that was closest to them was ladling out large bowls of a thin liquid that reminded Al a bit too much of waste products.

The second closest one, however, seemed perfectly respectable. A few men were sitting around, hunched over various meals while the man behind the counter who must have been the owner chopped some vegetables.

Al smiled and slid into a chair in front of the counter. He smiled at the man and waved Mei over to join him. The man looked at him funny, but Al was well used to it. Blond hair, gold eyes, it was inevitable. He had long sense taken Mei's advice of just ignoring it. She got into the seat next to him.

"Are you a demon?" were the first words out of the man's mouth when he came near them.

It took a full ten minutes to convince the man that, no, Al wasn't a demon and, no, he wasn't going to kill anyone or cause him to lose any business. Even after the ten minutes were up the man kept his distance whenever he could. It was very hesitantly that he asked them what they wanted to eat.

"Whatever's your most popular order."

Al was adamant that learning about the cultures of the East had to include familiarizing himself with their food. It had led him to getting sick many times, but as his stomach hardened fewer things upset him. The easiest way to get an actual feel for what most people ate, they usually gave vague orders like that one. Usually the owner of the restaurant didn't mind too much; a great deal of the time Mei suspected they actually gave them the most expensive item on the menu instead of what was popular.

The man came back a few moments later with two bowls of a stew with large meatballs floating in it.

Al just grinned and started eating widely. Mei was very tempted to follow his example, but there was something niggling at the back of her head so she pulled the man aside to ask what was in the stew. When she got the answer, Mei turned a not so pleasant shade and pushed the bowl away from her.

"I'll have something else that doesn't include that particular ingredient," Mei said queasily. The man nodded and started preparing something else.

"Why aren't you eating?" Al asked when he noticed her pushed aside bowl. "It's really good."

"No I really don't think I'd—"

"Come on Mei! You've got to try new things. How else are you supposed to get the full experience?"

"I tried the eyeball in Ridonphul," she said, trying to defend herself. So what if she wouldn't dig into any edible item in view? She was trying to avoid losing her meal and or getting food poisoning.

"And it wasn't too bad, was it?"

"It was disgusting."

"It was flavorful."

"I could feel it squishing beneath my teeth."

"You feel that when you eat grapes…"

"Grapes weren't once a part of a breathing animal. Which, Al, I think you might not be so eager to eat that if you knew—"

"Here's the difference between you and me when it comes to eating, Mei," Al said happily, continuing to eat even as he talked. He was really enjoying it and she wouldn't even try it. "I already understand that asking about what you're eating is just going to make you not want to eat it. Therefore, don't ask, don't know. It's a strange policy coming from an alchemist, but it's not at all foreign to a food taster."

"But Al, I really think—"

"Mei, I don't want to know."

Mei huffed, angry at being cut off so much. If he didn't want to know, fine. She would just tell him later and see how he felt then.

"Can I have seconds?" he asked the man who tended the shop who had just handed Mei a plate of food.

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><p>Al was a regular visitor to the food shop after that. The man, who finally gave them his name as Wahkin, started to warm up to them (or at least Al) after their third visit. After all, a demon wouldn't be able to appreciate good food like he was.<p>

Mei still didn't eat any of the food without making sure that there wasn't any of "the ingredient" in it. Al thought she was being ridiculous because every time she said this Wahkin would tell her that that ingredient was what made the stew so good. Mei still refused to eat it.

"Your loss."

The people were charming, always being courteous to a fault. There were a few more people who accused Al of being a demon, but those were almost expected. Al and Mei were sent from one house to another, each person wanting to let them stay in their own homes.

Al was very sad when it was finally time to go. Of all the countries/cities/towns they had visited he claimed this one to be his absolute favorite. The food, the people, the customs, the area.

"I wish Ed could see it out here," he informed her. "He would love it here. He'd be a regular at Wahkin's restaurant. You really should have tried the stew Mei. Oh, and the special a few days ago? That was amazing! The meat tasted so fresh and it was seasoned so well… really you should have tried it. What was it made of? Lizard?"

"I've eaten lizard. It doesn't taste bad."

"You'll eat lizard, but not this? Mei, I think you need to get a brain check. I'm telling you it was—"

Finally Mei couldn't take it any longer. She was tired of him telling her what she was missing out on and what she should have done when he didn't even know.

"Al." He stopped talking and looked at her. "It was cat."

"… what are you talking about? What do cats have to do with this?"

"The meat in the stew and the special. It was cat." His eyes widened to humongous proportions.

"What?"

"It was cat. They killed, skinned, seasoned, and fed you cat. And you ate it."

His expression would have been amusing if he hadn't thrown up on her a few moments later.

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><p><strong>Had to do it. Had to. You guys knew I had to do it. I had to have Al eating and enjoying eating cat.<strong>

**Fact: Yes, people do still eat cat in eastern countries. In current times you won't usually find this type of things going on; from what I understand it's something that's mostly just for those who really want it. Also, most people in Northern China are against eating cats, which is why Mei feels sick when she hears about it.**

**My dad also says that it tastes like squirrel. I don't know if he speaks from personal experience or not.**

**Please review.**

**Sorry about the shortness, again.**


	38. Shot in the Dark

**I don't want to be back at school :(**

**This is dedicated in part to Hyped who brought to my attention that they really haven't gotten a seriously BAD reception. So here is it. A seriously bad reception. Enjoy!**

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><p>The shot rang loud and clear through the empty space.<p>

Mei jerked around trying to find the source of the noise, but not able to identify it.

"What was that?" she asked, placing a hand over her chest to try and calm her racing heart. She turned around to look at her companion and screamed.

"Al! Al!"

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><p>They had been warned well in advance. Even so, they had decided at length that it would be better to take the risk of approaching a dangerous area than miss out on the opportunity to find the mysterious alchemist they had heard about. Well, not an alchemist, but not quite an alkahestrist either. Apparently this man had discovered a way to preform long distance alchemy without using the Dragon's Pulse at all. They were sure whether they should believe it or not, but wanted to check it out either way. The man was either a genius or a charlatan.<p>

Northern Nirobique, especially Northwestern Nirobique was dangerous territory for travelers. Due to frequent warring with Xiongnu, they had become very mistrustful of anyone who wasn't natural to the part. Visitors had been known to go to the area and never come back. Al and Mei had been well warned of this, multiple times and from multiple people.

It wasn't as if they hadn't been in dangerous situations before. For crying out loud, they had both been in situations that meant the life and or death of millions of people. Really this wouldn't be that much of a danger.

They had even taken precautions that both had felt were a little unnecessary. They hadn't even gone into town for lodging, instead camping outside of town. The only time they had actually gone into town was to ask for directions to the non-alchemist/alkahestrist. And man, were those people right. Usually Al got confused and weird looks for his blond hair. Here he got flat out glares and evil eyes. Mei was treated no better.

But the second man they asked had given them honest answers.

"Where can we find him?"

"Away from town."

They weren't exactly helpful and a not exactly straightforward, but they managed to wheddel directions out of him.

"He lives in the middle of a tree."

"Yes."

"On top of a solid volcanic rock."

"Exactly."

"He's either the best plant alchemist I've ever heard of, a loon, or we're getting fake answers," Al commented, smiling, but speaking in Amestrian.

"I really hope it's the plant option," Mei muttered in response.

The man's eyes narrowed as he glared at them.

"When will you be trying to find him?" the man asked, almost growling.

"Tomorrow," Al answered, smiling thinly. "We'll go back to our camp and… uh… prepare? Thank you for your help."

"You're welcome," the man answered, smiling just as, if not more, thinly.

They had returned back to their camp and spent a great deal of time trying to shake the feeling the entire area gave them.

The next morning and the sun had risen bright and early. Al and Mei woke with it.

"Do you think it's too early to head over there?" Mei asked as she dropped a small packet of rice into a pot of water. It was one of the few things they had brought from Xing food-wise that was still good and hadn't been eaten. Easy to package, easy to carry, easy to prepare. They were useful when they were low on supplies.

"I don't know. Most alchemist—Brother definitely excepted—like to rise early. If you're anything to go by most alkahestrists do too." Mei stuck her tongue out at him playfully and he smiled at her.

"It's true. You got me up way to early every morning."

"It wasn't that early," she told him, rolling her eyes.

"5:30? Way too early."

"Wimp."

"I'll admit it. I preferred waking up when I didn't actually go to sleep."

Mei smiled at him and he grinned back before turning his head and biting his lip. It had been months since he had started actively trying to—his cheeks burned as he thought the words— win her heart. As far as he could tell there was absolutely no progress whatsoever. She was acting almost exactly how she had before.

"I think we should wait for a bit. At least until it's started to warm up a little."

"Okay," Mei agreed. "Should we break camp?"

"Yeah. I don't want to come back here, whether he works out or not."

She nodded again and started to work on exactly what she said, breaking camp. It was something both of them were used to, and neither really had to ask any questions beyond that. They both knew exactly what parts of what were theirs to take care of. There was a brief break to consume the rice, but they were still done within the hour.

"Did he say go right or go left?"

"… Left?"

"Did he?"

"Yeah. I'm pretty sure he said left. At the funny looking twisted tree, right?"

"Yeah, I remember the twisted tree."

"So left?"

"… I guess." Both shrugged and continued to talk down the road. It was a very long stretch ahead of them. And a long stretch of nothing at that. But it was a long stretch of nothing to a patch of rocks that looked like a likely candidate for the rock with the random tree.

"This is quite the place, huh?" Al asked, trying to break the silence. With all the walking they had been doing lately, he was sure that he must have very thick soles on his feet.

"I don't like it," she answered. "It just gives me a bad feeling."

"People crawling under the earth feeling? Because if so…"

"No," she admonished, even though she was smiling slightly. "I would have said something if that were true, trust me. It just feels like these people are going to attack us at any moment. I don't like it."

As if answering a prophesy or in response to Mei's words, a shot rang loud and clear through the empty space.

Mei jerked around trying to find the source of the noise, but not able to identify it.

"What was that?" she asked, placing a hand over her chest to try and calm her racing heart. She turned around to look at her companion and promptly screamed.

"Al! Al!"

His eyes were wide with shock and pain.

"Al!"

His hand grabbed his lower abdominal area and he looked down in disbelief. There was blood on his fingers.

"Mei…"

He stumbled backwards and somehow managed to sit down. He laid down on his back and Mei hurried over to him.

"I think… I might be going into shock," he said, blinking up almost unseeingly. "Loosing… a lot of blood…"

"Al, Al focus on me!" She was starting to panic and she knew it. First rule, stay calm. It was what she had always been told. Stay calm.

"I'll close the wound," she said, pulling out her knives.

"No, he said, grabbing at her hand. "Bullet…"

Crap, he was right. She couldn't actually preform the transmutation unless she could get the bullet in. Mei bit her lip trying to think as quick as she could. What could she do? She had to get the bullet out, but how? Try to dig it out herself? That would no doubt make him pass out. And what would happen if the man who shot at them was still around. This made her look around franticly, looking for any approaching or menacing shapes. There were none.

He was starting to turn pale. He was already losing a lot of blood and coherency.

"Okay Al, I'm going to have to try to figure out how to get the bullet out." Forsaking just biting, Mei started to chew on her lip. "Do we have any antibiotics?"

He didn't answer, just kept staring.

"Al?" he still didn't answer. "Al!"

"Brother?"

Or did the bullet go all the way through? If that was the chance she would be able to heal it up all the way right? She wished she knew more about bullet wounds. Most assassins didn't bother to use something so bulky and noisy. If it was a knife wound she would be able to treat anything that wasn't a direct plunge into the heart!

She didn't want to turn him over to check in case it had damaged his spine either. That could do irreparable damage… but she needed to know in case the bullet was still in there!

"The bullet probably went all the way through."

Mei turned around so fast she almost took the man's head off with her kunai. He was old, almost bald, and wearing old and tattered clothing. His eyes were narrow and his complextion blotchy but he was staring at her and Al in what seemed to be genuine concern.

"Calm down!" he said, raising his hands. "I'm just trying to help."

"How do I know that?"

"You don't," he answered. "But I can. The gun they used, it was a 9mm Luger. It's the most common type of gun used out here. The bullet's small and it goes right through. You might even be able to find it."

"You're sure?" Mei asked. She was still holding the knife up, ready to attack him if he made a false move.

"More sure than you are."

Her teeth continued to gnaw on her lip. She'd rather take the chance.

Instead of throwing the knife at the man, she dropped them on the ground around Al. It looked like he had passed out while she was talking to the man. She was fairly sure that wasn't good.

"Don't die on me Al," she whispered before drawing a circle and activating the array.

The blue light spiked and crackled. As soon as it died down, Mei knelt down by Al's side and checked the wound. There was fresh skin covering it and she turned him over, forgetting for the moment that his spine might be injured. Luck was at least on their side a little because it didn't seem like it was damaged at all. There was fresh skin on the other side at well, which meant that the man was right. The bullet had gone all the way through.

Al was still unconscious though.

"Is he alright?"

Mei turned around and looked at the man, relieved.

"It seems so. Thank you. Thank you very much." He nodded, accepting her thanks.

"You're welcome. I always think that it's unfair the way the citizens in this area treat visitors and foreigners. You're not the first to have been attacked along the road. Not all of them are lucky enough to have an alkahestrist with them though." He smiled at her and bowed slightly.

"I assume I am the one you are looking for, alkahestrist of Xing. I am Siugh Shulong, the closest thing you can find to an alkahestrist out in these parts."

"You helped me save his life and for that I am going to be forever thankful. Thank you."

"Once again, I'm glad I can help. I wish I could help more of your counterparts, but unfortunately though I am familiar with the principals and teachings of alkahestry, I am not proficient myself."

"So you are the man we've been hearing so much about?"

He chuckled, "I don't know about that exactly. Perhaps."

"Do you have lodging nearby?" she asked hopefully. "The array kills any infections that would have started, but I'm still worried about leaving him out here in the open."

"Yes, yes. Of course. My home is just over there. I can help you carry him."

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><p><em>Well. It's official. I really really really really do not suggest Nerobique for a vacation. At all. Maybe in two hundred years when it's stopped warring with Xiongnu. Until then don't even think about taking a vacation here, especially not if your plans include stopping to talk with an alchemist that no one likes in the first place.<em>

_You will get shot._

_And I mean that literally. I have the scar to prove it. Alkahestry uses the natural qi of a person to speed up the body's natural healing process. Which means you still get the scars. Too bad it's not as extensive as Brother's. _

_It's only thanks to Mei and aforementioned alchemist that I'm alive. The bullet exited through my back and thankfully made a pretty clean hole through some of my abdominal muscles. It seems like a pretty flimsy thing to be grateful for, but it could have caused a shock wave and completely destroyed my abdominal muscles. Or ricochet of my spine and put me in a wheelchair like Lieutenant Havoc._

_I'm not going to be able to move around for a while but the alchemist says we can stay in his home until I can walk again. I don't plan on staying that long. I plan on leaving as soon as I can stand on my own. Mei can help me at that point._

_There's something to be said for the Elric pride._

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><p><strong>Special special thanks to one of my best friends Margs for giving me pretty much all my information about guns and bullet wounds.<strong>

**For anyone interested, the bullet wound was the same from the Worth Fighting For AU. I had it planned for him to get shot sometime before they're engaged, I just didn't know how/when/where. So thank you Hyped for giving me the opportunity!**

**Please review**


	39. Don't Shoot the Messenger

**I love play on word titles. Chapters, stories... doesn't matter. Don't Shoot the Messenger. Oh, stroke of genius. **

**Anyways, I want to send out a desperate plea to you guys. 200 reviews? PLEASE? 11 reviews, you've done it for me before. Please! *puppy dog eyes***

**Most of the muscle information came from two articles I found online about muscle regrowth. I made the rest up.**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Al had lived in a land locked country his entire life. He had never visited Aerugo long enough to actually make it to the coast and had only spent about three weeks out of the capital city in Xing that weren't used for traveling. His experiences in Haldido was his first with the sea or the ocean. The sunburn that came with it didn't exactly give him the fondest feeling towards the area.<p>

So the idea that people would set up their entire lives and villages on the sea side where the houses practically sat in the water was… foreign. To say it politely.

But that was a part of the culture he knew was just a part of what he was trying to study. So he would study it. Even if the moisture in the air made him feel like he was swimming through the air rather than walking. And the salt from the sea shore chapped his lips. And all you could find for food anywhere was sea food.

He didn't like it here much.

But when someone told him there was a chain of islands that had actually developed their own brand of alchemy, an alchemy that was a different from alchemy as it was from alkahestry, he couldn't resist the temptation to book passage on the first boat (the man making reservations testily told him at least three times it was a 'ship').

So they had to stay in the area for at least a week until the 'ship' left. It was actually a cargo ship that didn't normally carry passengers, but when they learned that Al had the ability to fix things with a clap of his hands, they had agreed to take him and Mei on.

That was why they were currently miserable and holed up in a simple inn and bar, sipping as a sea food soup. It was okay, compared to the rest of the food which Al couldn't really get his stomach to accept. It was even cheap, something both of them appreciated. They were low on actual money thanks to the up-front fee they had to pay for passage onto the ship.

Japin had better be worth it.

"I'm done, what about you?" Mei said, pushing the bowl away from her. Al finished slurping his last spoonful and smiled at her.

"Uh… no?"

Mei rolled her eyes. "You've convinced me. At first I thought it was just Ling, but now I'm convinced. Boy are naturally gluttons."

"Hey!"

"Do you want to deny that you always eat at least twice that I do?"

"… no."

"Exactly. You have to pay for your own seconds."

"Mei," he said, grinning. "We share money."

"I know. You're paying for it."

"That means you're paying for it too."

"Not in my mind," she said, sticking her tongue out at him, making him laugh.

"Fine! Could you give me my money so that I may buy my own seconds?" She, grinning, handed him a few coins which he counted carefully before nodding gratefully. He took a while to stand up , struggling to avoid using his abs, but made it up by himself. He wove his way through the tables until he reached the bar behind which the owner resided.

"Another bowl of the sea food soup, please." Al dropped the coins on counter and the man nodded, disappearing for a moment before returning with a bowl of the hot soup. Al thanked him and made to move away, but then the man's hand shot out and grabbed his shoulder.

"Sir."

"Yes?" Al answered uncertainly.

"I just think you ought to know, that there's been a man asking around for you."

"What?" He was instantly on his guard. Ever since the incident a month ago, which still left a heavy toll on him, he and Mei had been a hundredfold more careful.

"He was asking around for a blond man named Elric traveling with a young woman who doesn't quite fit in around these parts. You're the only blond man I've ever set eyes on in my life."

Al's brow furrowed. This was troubling.

"Is he here?"

"No, he left a little bit before you came down stairs from your room. He said he was going to check up again, so I would suggest either hiding up in your rooms or leaving until tonight. I can keep the doors open a little longer for you."

"Thank you," Al said sincerely. "Please keep the doors open, we'll take our chances outside." The man nodded and scooped the money Al had placed on the counter into a pocket.

"Mei," Al said when he finally made it back over to her. He didn't bend over or sit down. Either too much pain or too much hassle. "Someone's looking for us."

"What do you mean?"

"Someone's been asking around for a blond Elric and his female traveling companion. He's coming back here soon to keep looking for us."

"Do you think they mean trouble?" she asked in a hushed voice.

"I don't know," he answered, matching her tone. "I don't think we can expect anything else, though."

Mei nodded and stood up abruptly. "Are we going to our room or outside?"

"I was thinking about wearing a heavy coat with a hood and walking around for a few hours until the inn closes. The manager agreed to give us an extra hour to come back."

"Okay," she said and headed directly towards where they had kept their coats. Both had followed local's advice and gotten them with hoods so that they wouldn't get wet in the rain. It would also have the side effect of covering Al's hair which would make him much harder to notice and recognize.

She came back and handed his to him, which he gingerly shrugged on. He really didn't notice how often he used his core until it was injured.

"Let's head out."

They left the soup still simmering slightly on the table.

Almost an hour later, they were making a look away from the wharf. It was getting fairly windy which made the shore less enjoyable. Al had offered to act as a shield for Mei against the wind, but she had just rolled her eyes and told him that she considered it light training.

It was then that they noticed they were being followed.

The man was right behind them. They hadn't noticed him before because of how windy it was. He wasz hurrying up. Al grabbed onto Mei's arm and sped up, but it was only the longer nature of his legs that kept him moving faster than her. She was moving as fast as she could too. Then the man broke into a run and Al and Mei followed his example.

"Princess!" the man growled. That had to mean he knew who they were. It wasn't just some random attack or mugging. "Chang!"

"Al saw an ally up ahead and quickly pointed it out to Mei. "While' he's turning, we can trap him," he huffed. This was hard for him. His abdomen was burning.

Mei agreed and they made a sharp turn. The man behind them sore and turned as well, only to be instantly surrounded in a small earthen box. Al was breathing hard, hand clamped over his bullet scar.

"Mei… I need help… sitting." She nodded and moved over to him, helping him bend down and sit on the filthy ground. He continued to breath hard and she hovered over him, making sure that he was alright. Then the man who was following them began to bang on the walls of the makeshift prison. Mei looked Al him, raising an eyebrow, and he nodded at her.

After a loud clap and quick blue crackling, a small hole of dirt fell out of the box letting some light stream in. A pair of Xingese eyes appeared in the hole and met Mei's now hard ones.

"Who are you?" she asked without preamble. "How do you know of and why were you following us?"

"My name is Ti Ran, Princess Chang. I have been searching for you for many, many months." He didn't sound angry at how he had been treated, more like he was expecting something like it to happen. He also sounded very tired.

"Why?"

"I am a messenger from Xing. Sent by your brother, Emperor Ling Yao, may his days be long and prosperous."

Neither of them was quite expecting that answer.

"Why were you asking about us?"

"I have been searching all over the East, following every mention of you. You leave quite an impression in your wake, Your Highness."

"How do we know you're telling the truth?"

"The Emperor and Empress told me things to tell you, which should prove my story," he said happily, very glad that he had a good answer to the question.

"Okay," Mei said, crossing her arms. Not for the first time, Al was struck by how strong, independent, fierce and _beautiful _she looked. "What are they?"

"Good morning, diminutive little bean of a princess. Sleep tight."

She bit her lip. "Ling would say that every night, or every morning, before we would sleep in the desert. You have one point. Do you have anything else?"

"The second I was told to tell directly to Ambassador Elric and to only Ambassador Elric."

"Ambassador Elric is not in a position in which he could be the only one to listen to what you have to say. Say it out loud."

"Actually Mei," Al inputted. When Mei turned around to look at him, his cheeks were very pink. "If he's going to say what I think he is, I would really rather prefer you plugging your ears so you don't hear it. Please?"

She raised an eyebrow, but did what he asked, shoving fingers into each ear, closing her eyes too. She could hear the messenger's voice, but couldn't make out individual words. When it stopped, she removed her fingers and opened her eyes, catching sight of Al's now bright red face.

"He's definitely from Ling."

"How can you tell?"

"… uh… Remember that talk that Ling and I had before we left for Xiongnu?" His cheeks were getting even darker. She nodded. "Uh… let's just say there was no way anyone could have actually be able to describe everything he said without Ling having said it directly to him."

"What did he—"

"Don't ask." Mei really wanted to know, but the look on his face stopped her.

"Okay, fine. Al, could you let him out?" Al nodded, his coloring starting to fade but still a brilliant scarlet color, and clapped his hands to the ground again. The box fell away back into the dirt of the ally and the messenger let out a contented sigh.

"Thank you for letting me out. I'm afraid I'm terribly claustrophobic."

"Sorry," Al said, wincing as he moved the wrong way.

"It is okay, Ambassador. May I ask what is wrong? Perhaps I can assist you."

"No, I'm afraid not. I got shot about a month ago," he explained. "The bullet hit me in the abdominal area. It was small and fast, so it punctured right through my front and back, boring a hole through my muscles. The Princess used alkahestry to help the muscles heal themselves, but muscle tissue rarely heals the way it's supposed to, even with qi guiding it. The muscles are almost useless for now, they have to realign themselves with the rest of the muscle fibers which can only be by working them, which I won't be able to do until the inflammation goes down. I probably wouldn't be able to stay upright if I didn't have Mei here to help me out when I need it." He cast a grateful look at her, which she smiled to.

"I am sorry for your pain," Ti said, bowing his head.

"It's fine, it'll heal. What's the message?"

"Excuse me?"

"The message," Mei clarified. "You said that you're a messenger from Xing. It must be an important message if Ling sent you to find us. What is it?"

"Ah!" He cleared his throat almost dramatically. "His Majesty, Emperor Ling Yao, Son of the Morning, orders you, as one of his subjects and subservient to him, Princess and Heir Apparent Mei Chang and you, Alphonse Elric as a representative of him, to return to Xing at once."

"What?" they said simultaneously.

"On account of requesting your presence at the birth of the newest member of the Royal Family."

He caught sight of the looks on both of their faces and bit back a smile.

"Empress Lan Fan's pregnancy has caused quite the stir."

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><p><strong>:D Lan Fan's pregnant! Yay! She's going to have a baby!<strong>

**While I'm trying to entice you to give me two hundred reviews (I don't ask that often, PLEASE!), something special will happen for the 200th review! Not quite sure what yet, but it will be special and worth reviewing three times to ensure you get the spot!**


	40. Returning to Xing

**Oh my gosh guys.**

**I cannot thank you enough. Seriously? I asked for enough reviews to get to 200 from 189. I was expecting to get it if you guys were feeling generous. 11 reviews is a bit to ask for when I normally get more like four or five. But 17 reviews?! THANK YOU SO MUCH! I was really just completely overwhelmed with joy when I got that many. Seriously, I can barely express how happy that makes me. It one hundred percent made my Monday better. Oh and special congrats to Akirafinatic who got review 200!**

**Maybe I should ask for reviews more often, I get really good response…**

**I have another request for you guys this time, but it's not begging for a ton of reviews again, I promise. A really good friend of mine just created this blog with a close friend of hers and I would love if you would check it out and support them. They're both such sweethearts and really good writers. The blogs really cute too. It's about a pact they made to write two books before they're twenty years old and they're gonna pack it full of advice on writing tips, writing advice, advice about how to write when you're young, ways to make people take your writing seriously… It's going to be really awesome. Please please support: twobooksbefore20 dot blogspot dot com. There's also a link on my profile if this doesn't work.**

**And while I'm at it, I'm gonna thank internet article written for new Daddy's who don't know what to do when their wife goes into labor! They helped a lot writing this chapter! *wink wink***

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><p><strong>Week 1<strong>

"When did it happen? When did they find out? How long had it been? Do they know if it's a girl or a boy?"

"Princess Chang, I apologize profusely, but I am not privy to the Empress's personal problems."

* * *

><p><strong>Week 2<strong>

"How long where you searching for us again?"

"Five months."

"… Seriously?"

"You've traveled in a highly zig-zag pattern, Ambassador. It was hard to figure out where you had gone next in many situations."

"Wait, if you were searching for five months, they probably found out about the second or third and we still have a few weeks of travel left! She could be having the baby any time now!"

"Yes, Princess Chang."

* * *

><p><strong>Week 3<strong>

"… I like traveling better when it isn't nonstop."

"Even I'm getting tired of it, and traveling's pretty much all I did for most of my teenage years…"

"… I've been doing this for almost six months now. I'm fairly used to the discomfort."

* * *

><p><strong>Week 4<strong>

It was the strangest sensation being among a familiar area. After so long (almost a year and a half, Al realized with a start) of constant new environments and situations, the familiar city seemed odd. Almost as if they were better fit to a dream than real life.

The car rumbled through the streets bring back the heavily scented air of the Xingese streets back to Al's nose.

"Remember that one place, uh, Vitan? With the garden with scents from all over the East, even importing some flora from the West?" Mei nodded. "I'd trade it all to smell this every day." She smiled widely at him. As excited as Al was to get back to Xing and see Ling and Lan Fan and maybe their child, Mei was much more so. Xing was her home and she couldn't wait to go back.

Their guide had left them a while before, making sure they had quick passage into the capital directly to the palace. A letter had been sent ahead with a fresh messenger, (theirs was going home to a small house in the Shitang Providence so rest for a few weeks before returning to any form of work), so they were expecting Ling and Lan Fan to be waiting for them.

They didn't even wait for the car to stop all of the way when it pulled up to the palace. They grabbed their things and jumped out of the door while it was still parking. It was a short trip from where they were dropped off to the large gates that swung open to greet them. Al and Mei grinned at each other the entire way through the courtyard to the front steps where two familiar figures were standing.

Ling was in his ceremonial robes, but there was a huge grin on his face. Lan Fan stood at his side in similar clothing, hair delicately styled up out of the way. She was flanked by two women, no doubt because of the huge nature of her belly. She looked wonderful, happier and more radiant than the last time they saw her, and Al was convinced it wasn't just the hormones.

Ling was the first to get tackled hugged. He did not remain upright. The guards, including if Al wasn't much mistaken, one of Lan Fan's male cousins, nearly killed Mei on the spot before they realized Ling was laughing. Al used the time to hug Lan Fan himself, taking care to avoid the swell.

"It's good to see you again, Alphonse."

"It's great to see you too! You look… amazing. Really good." She blushed slightly.

"Thank you."

"How's the new heir of Xing?"

Lan Fan smiled and placed a hand on her stomach. "He is fine. The midwives are afraid that he is overdue, but I am not overly worried. He will be like his father. Late."

"Well that's new. You not worried when everyone else is." They both smiled. By this time Mei had finally gotten off of Ling and he was starting to get to his feet, laughing, but still rubbing his back and his head.

"I didn't realize you missed me that much, Chang."

Mei chose to ignore the comment and turned her attention to Lan Fan, who was promptly hugged though not quite as enthusiastically because of the baby.

"Is it just my imagination or did you grow while you were gone?" Ling asked, teasing grin on his face.

"It's been a year and a half. Of course I've grown."

"Nope, that's not it. Al you're going to have to help me out here. Did she get prettier?" Al laughed, smiling as he answered honestly:

"Yes."

That made Mei blush and Ling laugh loudly. "And you did do your duty and make sure she didn't end up falling in love with some foreigner, right?"

"As far as I know," he said, trying to pull a smile across his face. Unfortunately. Well, unfortunately she didn't fall in love with the particular foreigner he wanted her to fall in love with. Namely, him.

"Good. You're not allowed to go falling in love without my permission, okay?" he said severely, mock glaring at his little sister.

Mei answered him with something very rude she had learned in Golbique.

Luckily, only Al actually understood what she had said.

"I'm just going to assume you said 'I love you and missed you praised older brother.' Come on in, you both need to settle in. Al if you want to call Ed, you can do that, but not until after dinner. I want to hear all about your travels and see all the stuff you brought back. I know you brought back a gift fit for an Emperor, but really you shouldn't have." Ling continued to chatter as they moved through the halls of the palace, servants stopping to bow every time they caught sight of the group. Ling would wave casually at them, and they would continue with their work.

Mei fell behind a bit to talk with Lan Fan.

"The midwives said that having minor cases of contractions is natural and it could still be weeks before actual labor," Lan fan said in answer to one of Mei's questions. "I feel like it will be soon though, they are staying for longer when they do come."

"Have you thought of any names?"

"How many guys did you have to chase away from my sister?" Ling asked Al a few feet ahead of them.

Al didn't have the chance to answer because of Lan Fan's cry of pain.

"Lan Fan!" Ling shouted, turning around and running over to her. The two women that were flanking her had already moved forward and grabbed an arm each.

"I'm fine," she breathed. "Just another contraction. They'll soon pass." But it didn't go away, not for a full minute. They tried to continue walking but only four minutes later another one hit.

"That's less than five minutes apart, doesn't that mean…?"

"Your Majesty, we need to get her to the birthing room, just in case," one of the women said and Ling nodded. With the three of them helping, they managed to help Lan Fan down the hall. Al and Mei stared at each other, not sure what they should do, the simultaneously began to sprint after the group.

* * *

><p>"If you had told me before I came to Amestris that I would be sitting here waiting for my only wife Empress Lan Fan to give birth to our son, I would have had you placed in an asylum. Especially if you could explain in words what I'm feeling now."<p>

Al smiled weakly at the Xingese Emperor sitting next to him. When Lan Fan had been rushed into the room and the veritable army of midwives summoned, Ling and Al had both been kicked out of the room to wait outside while the contractions continued. One of the women came out to inform them that it could take up to twenty hours for a first child, so they should likely get comfortable.

It had already been ten.

"What would you have done to someone who said that not only were you waiting for your only wife and Empress to give birth to your son, but that you were counting on your half-sister Mei Chang to keep her alive?"

"… execute you so you couldn't spread the madness?"

"That probably would have been the only way to go, wouldn't it?"

"Things sure have changed."

They continued waiting, Al half-heartedly describing a few of the towns they had visited to pass the time. Another four hours had passed when they saw someone exiting the room. Both Al and Ling shot to their feet when Mei came through the door.

"What's going on?" Al asked immediately.

"Ling you need to go in there and tell you wife to stop being an idiot."

"What? Why? What's wrong?"

"She not letting us help her!" Mei said, throwing her hands up in the air helplessly. "She's trying to do it all by herself and won't accept our help because she's afraid it will somehow shame you."

"Shame me? Where did she get an idea like that?"

"I don't know but you need to knock it out or she'll just end up hurting herself."

Ling nodded and followed his half-sister into the room leaving Al behind outside.

* * *

><p>"Lan Fan!" Ling said the moment he entered the room. Despite the situation the nursemaids still stopped to bow to him, which he ignored. Instead, he hurried over to her side and griped her hand in his.<p>

"Lan Fan, are you alright?"

"Young lord?" she asked, almost as if in a haze. "Young Lord, you should not be here… the Elders…"

"The Elder can rot in a hole for all I care; I need to be here with you."

"It is not—" she whimpered slightly as another contraction hit. "—proper. You are the Emperor and I only your wife."

"You're more than just my wife," he said earnestly, gripping her hand. "You're the woman I love and I will be here for you whether you want me to or not. And if what Mei's saying I need to yell at you too. This is an order from your Emperor that you will take any assistance that will increase the chances of you and this child surviving. I know I told you your first priority is to protect our child, but you have to protect yourself too. I wouldn't be worth anything without you."

"That's not true Young Lo—" Then she bit her lip hard enough Ling was surprised there wasn't a spurt of blood accompanying it.

"Get her something to bite down on," he ordered. "Someone! She's not going to scream and she's going to hurt herself doing this!"

"Yes, You're Majesty," one of the maid said, and hurried off, probably to grab some leather or something.

"Lan Fan, you can scream. I hear most women want to curse their husbands to an early death when they're giving birth. I give you permission to do so," he informed, her trying to keep a light tone even though he could see the pain evident on her face.

"I will not do so, Young Lord." She always reverted to calling him that when she was distracted or in pain, he noticed. Habits really were hard to break. "I will not bring shame to our names."

"Have it your way," he shrugged, then winced slightly as her grip tightened. "And you're sure you don't want any medication to lessen the pain?" he asked. He had put this question to her many times over her pregnancy, but every time she had given him the same answer. He wondered if it would be the same now that the pain as upon her.

"I am a warrior, pain is something I must live with."

It appeared she would.

"You're Majesty," one of the maids said, running up to him with a tight coil of leather in her hands. "I have brought something for the Empress to bite. She will need it, Your Majesty, the cervix is almost fully dilated, she will have to begin pushing soon."

Ling nodded and held the leather out to Lan Fan who accepted it.

Then she started to push.

* * *

><p>It had been almost two hours, Al realized with a jolt, since Ling had left him alone in the hall. A number of men had come by, stopped, asked a few questions, then moved on. Considering Al had been sitting there for almost sixteen hours, he was surprised he didn't realize how hungry he was until a maid came by with a simple meal of rice and some of his favorite pork dumplings laid out on a plate.<p>

He wanted to know how things were going. He wanted to have someone with him. Even though he hadn't done much but cower, at least Ed was there to cower with the last time. Vaguely, Al wondered how Ed must have felt not having him there to cower with when Benjamin was born. He probably wouldn't have actually gone in with Winry, Al decided in his head. He would have been too scared, and with good reason, that Winry would finally do away with him with that wrench of hers.

He also wished that he had done some more research on childbirth. It had never been something important to him. It didn't have anything to do with bringing his mother back, healing dangerous wounds, and there wasn't really ever a practical application for him. But considering this was the second time that he was pushed into a situation with a pregnant woman going into labor and him not being a to do anything about it… he probably should.

"Al."

He looked up at the door to see Mei standing there look tired.

"Is everything all right?" he asked, standing up. Mei nodded.

"Both the baby and Lan Fan are alright. It's a boy."

"Can I see, or do they want a moment? I can understand if that's true." Mei smiled slightly.

"Actually they wanted me to come get you. He's… wrinkly, but in a perfect sort of way."

Al walked to the door, and would have continued on in, if he hadn't gotten the sudden and powerful urge to hug Mei, which he did.

"You are amazing, you know that right?"

She blushed a little. "Thank you Al."

Then he continued on into the room. It was full of activity, maids cleaning up blood and throwing bloody towels into baskets, cleaning up instruments, and the like. Secluded from the hustle and bustle though, the Imperial couple was leaning over a small object in the Empress's arms.

"He's beautiful," Ling said in a hushed voice, almost hard to hear over the infant's loud cries.

"He is," the mother agreed. "He looks so much like you."

"Yes," Ling breathed, almost as if he was afraid that speaking too loudly would harm the baby. "But he has your nose, do you see?" A gentle tap to said facial feature made the heir to the throne's face scrunch up even tighter. He laughed, then looked up and saw Al and Mei.

"Come and look at him," he said enthusiastically, waving them towards them. Al and Mei did as he asked and moved closer so that they could get a look at the child better.

The boy did look a great deal more like his father than his mother. Same squinty eyes and facial shape, but with his mother's small nose. A small tuft of fine black hair decorated the top of his head.

"Do you know what you're going to name him?" Mei asked, in the same quiet voice Ling had been using.

"Jun-li," Lan Fan answered, not taking her eyes off her child for a second. Mei smiled.

"It fits him. Very strong." Al asked, casually placing a hand on Mei's shoulder. She looked up at him, but he pretended as if he didn't see her questioning gaze.

"Thank you Alphonse."

"You're Majesty?" one of the older women in the room said, approaching the group. "I believe the child will be hungry. Do you wish to learn how to feed him or do you wish for another woman to take the burden?"

"I will, of course," Lan Fan answered, as if the thought of having another woman nurse her baby had never even occurred to the ex-guard.

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Come on Al, let's go," Mei said, tugging on his arm. Al nodded and followed her out of the room and into the hall where there was a little less activity.

"Was this your first time?" he asked when things were a little more quiet.

"What?"

"Your first time participating in something like this."

"Yes."

"It's a second time waiting outside of the room not being able to do anything, for me," Al answered, smiling. "It's pretty much all I'm good for in these situations. Hopefully I don't have to do it again until it's my own wife."

"I hope not," Mei said, frowning. "Because if you're just sitting outside while you're wife is giving birth she'll kill you when she's done. If it was me, most definitely."

Al laughed, but silently noted that in his mind.

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><p><strong>Jun: The baby name websites couldn't make up their mind as to whether it meant "honest" "strong" "handsome" or "ruler", but I thought all of them were something that applied toLingFan would want to name their son.**

**Li: An "additive" used for royal names dating back to early Chinese Emperors.**

**Review? :D And please check out that blog!**


	41. Catching Up

**I feel like I owe you guys an explanation on my name choices for the canon EdWin kids. One of them has been mentioned before and the second get's her debut in this chapter.**

**When I was brand brand new to fanfiction, I read this one really really awesometasticmazing story about Roy and Riza going into hiding together yada yada. But there's one scene where Ed almost dies trying to get information for the cause they're fighting for and Roy finds him in a refuge hospital. Ed's practically delirious but all he can say is that he has to live to see his son Benjamin.**

**The name just kinda took possession of my head. I've never been able to think of the eldest second generation Elric boy as named anything else.**

**And I named the girl Sara first because I liked the name. Then when I started wondering why everyone else was also naming her Sara I realized "Oh. Sara Rockbell, Winry's mom. Duh. Even more perfect! Awesome!" So yeah, it's unoriginal. But it works.**

**(The story's called Twist of Fate by Stephs if you're interested. It's kinda long but really good)**

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><p>"And you're sure I don't need to do anything else? Just enter the number like usual and…"<p>

"Yes, Ambassador. We have improved communication with your country a great deal in your absence. You only need to enter the number and the call will go through. It will perhaps take a little longer to connect." Al bit his lip and frowned at the phone in his hand. It was weird to think that in just the year and a half that he had been gone they had already fixed the connection between the countries enough that he could place a call here as easily as calling Winry from Central.

"Are you—"

"Yes."

"Okay," he said uncertainty, still staring at the phone. The man, probably tired of trying to get Al to understand that it really is quite simple, threw up his hands and walked away.

Nine, Seven, Three…

The phone was silent for a few moments before it finally began to ring. And ring. Finally, it was picked up.

"'lo!" A happy and young voice chirped. It wasn't the voice Al wanted to hear, but it still made him smile.

"Hello."

"This is 'ockbell to-mail. Mommy's giving baby Sara food!"

"And who am I speaking with?"

"I'm Benny!" the child said again happily. Al grinned. Last time he had talked to his nephew he had proudly proclaimed "Daddy", his first and only word.

"Can I talk with your daddy, Benny?"

"Sure!" There were sounds of rustling and even some crackling.

"Hello?" Ed voice was so familiar and open that Al almost started crying. "This is Edward Elric, my wife is currently occupied. Can I take a message for you?"

"Yes, you can. You can tell her that she'd better start firing up the oven and buying some high quality apples."

"Al?" Al laughed and wished he could have his brother there in front of him. There would be a very large hug involved. "Al! You're back!"

"I'm in Xing, yeah. We just got here yesterday."

"What's wrong with you! Why didn't you call then!" Al laughed again and leaned against the wall near the phone. It was the only phone in the palace that was wired to take calls outside of the country. It was usually hard to get access to it, or at least it was before. Now apparently it was fairly easy.

"Sorry, Brother. Things were pretty busy and I was pretty tired yesterday. Guess what happened?"

"What?"

"Lan Fan had her baby. Literally half an hour after we arrived. I spent almost twenty hours just sitting outside the room waiting while it went on. Reminded me of the—"

"The time in Rushvalley, huh? Don't tell me you were hanging onto Ling the way you were hanging onto me because if you do I'll get jealous."

"What? You were cowering in my lap," Al rebutted and heard the laughter from Ed's end of the phone.

"So when are you coming back here?"

"I was planning on coming home in about a week. There are a few affairs that Mei and I need to take care of here before I or she can go anywhere."

"Like what? What's more important than coming home?"

"Mostly bureaucratic stuff. Sharing tales. Collecting information for possible future trade routes. Health exams. They want to make sure we didn't accidently bring back some deadly disease that's going to kill everyone in Xing. And then there's the infant sacrifice…"

"Al!"

"I'm only joking Brother. They only sacrifice short peo—"

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SHORT? I'll have you know Benjamin think's I'm the tallest person in the whole world!"

"He's also two, Brother."

"Almost two, actually," Ed corrected, probably out of habit. "His birthday's in December."

"And when's Sara's?"

"August 22," the elder Elric replied, clearly proud of himself. Al didn't know if he was proud of himself because he got the date right or because of his daughter. "How did you know about her?"

"Benny said that Winry couldn't come to the phone because she was giving 'baby Sara food'." One of the members of the court (one of Mei and Ling's cousin… maybe. Or was it an Uncle? Or maybe it was just one of the rich guys…) raised an eyebrow at the Amestrian, but Al just nodded politely.

"So she's only a month old, huh?"

"Yeah. Winry's still not going back to work, which is probably a good thing. She started working again too soon after Benny was born."

Al grunted noncommittally. He knew that Ed was probably right simply because Winry was a tad too obsessed with her work, but he also knew that he was pretty over protective and could very well be over-reacting.

"Anyways, you need to come home as soon as possible. Buy your train ticket now. I don't want you to think about going anywhere other than heading straight here, okay? We'll be expecting you."

"Are you in Rushvalley or Resembool right now?"

"Rushvalley. We moved here after… oh Al… you wouldn't know…"

"What?" Al frowned. Ed was using a very serious tone, something he reserved for serious problems.

"It's Granny. She… she died. About a month ago. Only a few days after Sara was born."

"What?"

"Yeah. Old hag was older than we thought. What with her drinking and smoking it's probably a miracle she lasted as long as she did. Win was pretty broken about it. At least she got to meet Sara before she… moved on. We buried her next to Aunt Sara and Uncle Urey, but after that Winry really wanted to get away from Resembool. A few too many bad memories for right now. We're probably going to be here for a while. Maybe go back over the summer when it gets too hot to breath here."

"Granny's gone?"

Al could hear the sympathy in his brother's voice as clearly as he could feel the tears on his cheeks. "It wasn't anything nasty, I promise. It was kind of like Mom. She had all of us gathered around her and started talking. Then the next moment she was just… gone. Winry couldn't stop crying, which only made Sara start crying. Benny didn't understand what was going on. Just asked why she was taking a nap when she was talking. What makes me the maddest about this entire situation is that she got the last short joke in!"

Al laughed weakly. Granny had been old. She had probably even lived longer than she was supposed to have. So really it wasn't a horrible tragic death like Nina, or Hughes, or their mother. But it was just too strange for Al to try to comprehend a world in which Granny wasn't there.

"I wasn't there. I can't believe I wasn't there for something like that."

"Hey, Al. It's okay. It's not like you could have done anything to change that."

"No, I couldn't have. But that doesn't make it right."

There was a loud noise from the other end and Al heard Ed answer. It was probably Winry calling. Sure enough when he heard Ed's voice again,

"Sorry Al, Winry needs me. Don't beat yourself up about, okay? Please. And it was really good to hear from you. Seriously, don't you even consider going anywhere but straight here after those foreigners unleash you."

"Okay, Brother. Oh and, Ed?"

"Yeah, Al?"

"I think being a father's made you smarter." Al was expecting some sort of outburst or indignation, but instead Ed just answered quietly.

"Yeah, I think it has."

* * *

><p>Al found Mei later in her old room, playing with An, the pure white cat he had gotten her before they left. He hadn't given the kitten much thought while they were traveling (except some guilt after the… cat incident…) but it was one of the first things Mei had checked up on after the newest heir to the throne had been born. An's breed of cat was more intelligent than most others and actually recognized her owner despite how long it had been.<p>

"Hi, Al," Mei said cheerfully scratching the cat behind her ears.

He walked in and sat down on a chair near her bed where she was playing. Her hair was half out of her braids giving her an odd, half messed up half ready look.

"The maid tried to take out my hair but I told them to stop so that you could finish the job. Unless you don't want to do that anymore," she said quickly. "You don't have to if you don't. I can finish it myself."

"No, I was hoping that you'd still let me," he said, trying for a smile. He knew the moment he saw the look in her eyes that she knew something was wrong.

"You'd better tell me what's up while you're brushing," she ordered, grabbing a brush from her bedside table. "Come on up," she said, patting the area of bed behind her. He crawled on top of the huge bed and started to unwind the coil keeping her braids in place.

"I was talking with Ed today."

"Okay. Is something wrong?"

"It's not something that happened. In fact a few really great things have happened. They had a little girl, Sara. She's only about a month old right now."

"That's wonderful."

"Yeah…" He started moving the brush through her hair.

"So what's actually bothering you?"

"… Granny's… she died. While we were gone. A month ago."

"Al…"

"She practically raised me and Ed after our mom died. She was always, always there to knock some sense into us when we needed it. And it was her time to go, it wasn't a horrible tragic death. She was old and died with her family surrounding her. But… I wasn't there…" he was trying to hold back the tears, but when she turned around and hugged him tightly he couldn't keep them in and hugged her back.

"I can't believe I wasn't even there. Not even for her funeral. How could I just not be there?"

"It's okay Al," Mei said soothingly, rubbing his back slightly.

They sat like that for a long time, his crying into her shoulder and her holding him. An onlooker might have found it a humorous situation, her being so much smaller than him but him still being held by her. Neither of them paid attention nor cared. They might have even fallen asleep like that, holding onto each other, if Al hadn't eventually straightened and rubbed at his eyes.

"I'm sorry for blubbering."

"No, really, Al. It's fine. I… I don't mind."

He stayed quiet for a while, trying to fight with his brain and his mouth. She stared at him funny and he made his decision. "Thanks. Uh, goodnight."

"… Goodnight Al. You can wake me up if you need to talk during the night, okay?"

"Thank you Mei," he said, smiling. Then he left the room and closed the door behind him.

He had been close, so very close, to telling her that he loved her. He wasn't sure if that thought excited him or terrified him.

* * *

><p><strong>Yeah, sorry, Granny's dead... and it's a little short... a dialogue heavy... and I'm not sure I like the scene with Ed...*wince* Sorry.<strong>

**But lotsa fluffy comforting fluff.**

**And I'm gonna advertise again. twobooksbefore20 dot blogspot dot com Seriously. Check it out. Share. Tell a friend.**


	42. When Nothing Else Matters

**Sorry it's a day late. I had a huge test today and when I saw the clock hit 11:30 last night I had to give up and go to bed. And I was studying late nothing for the second part and am still posting it so late it's almost not Monday. Fail.**

**Hope you enjoy anyways!**

* * *

><p>It is widely known that the Emperor has the ability to influence and use the flow of <em>qi<em>. It is not as well known that the majority of the Xingese court (as most of them were all in the running for the throne at one point in their lives and had to learn to protect their lives) can do the same. It is because of this that at approximately 4:38 on October 5 the entire court had to keep themselves from jumping slightly.

Ling, who was announcing something, Mei wasn't really paying attention to be honest, didn't even stop his flow of speech. She could tell by the change in his eyes that he had noticed the source of _qi_ sneaking their way towards the courtroom via support beams. Mei wasn't afraid to admit that she was impressed by the lack of outward attention the court paid it. Normally there would be at least one person who would squeak or start muttering to their friend, but there was none of it. Then she heard the squeak.

"Mei! There's someone—"

"Al, please shut up."

"No, it's someone—"

"I know," she whispered. "So does everyone else. We're trying not to tip him off. You're ruining it."

"Oh."

She looked over at the Amestrian and had to smile. His checks were a light shade of pink and growing darker. As always, she had to stop and admire how any human being such as him could even exist. It didn't seem physically possible to have hair so blond and eyes that color. Not to mention a personality so bright or a heart so large.

Lan Fan stood quietly, handing the large bundle of blankets wrapped around the newest heir to Mei, who was sitting closer to the Imperial couple than normal thanks to her soon departure for the Chang Providence. Mei took the baby happily, pulling the blankets away from Jun-li's face so that she could smile at him. It was very obvious that the child would have the personality of his mother, he rarely cried.

"Alphonse, would you please accompany me to the bathroom?" Lan Fan said quietly, glancing over to where Ling was still talking. He raised an eyebrow but she just jerked her head a little in the direction of the qi, the smiled slightly. "I'm not sure I'll be able to make it alone."

"… uh, yeah. Sure."

Mei watched them leave, along with a number of other members of the court.

"Princess Chang?" Mei looked away from their retreating back towards Ling.

"Yes, you're Majesty?"

"I must ask you because Ambassador Elric just left with the Empress. Are you aware of his plans?"

"We wishes to return to Amestris as soon as possible."

"No doubt to visit his family, correct? I heard that Granny Pinako passed away, is that true?"

"It is, you're Majesty."

"Shame. She cooked very good chicken. Offer him my condolences, Princess."

"Yes, you're Majesty." The formalities annoyed Mei, but they were trying to keep the Elders as happy as possible to keep any objections to Mei and Al leaving for home at bay. He turned to another courtier to being discussing something with them, when something came crashing from the ceiling.

Everyone jumped and looked around before fixing their gazed on the man crumpled in a heap near the center of the room. His hands were tied together and was bleeding from his cheek. By the way he was groaning, he probably broke more than a few things upon impact with the floor.

"Princess Chang, please check to make sure he is not in danger of death," Ling said, the only one completely unfazed by the occurrence. Mei nodded, and handed Jun-li to his father before kneeling by the man. Broken arm, one, maybe two ribs as well. He would live.

She announced this much and Ling nodded, then smiled at the figure that landed lightly near her seat. Alphonse was not quite so neat nor light and drew plenty of attention dropping and rolling near the middle of the floor. He came up near Mei and she smiled at him.

"Good job."

"Thanks," he whispered back, before bowing to Ling and returning to his seat.

"My thanks to the Empress and Ambassador Elric for stopping and capturing this assassin."

"You're Majesty!" one of the Elders said, shooting to his seat. "This is completely improper. The Empress should not be doing such menial things such as the catching and capture of a common assassin, especially recovering from birth as she is."

"Yes, Funhi, you are correct. But one of the conditions of my marrying the Empress was that she would be allowed to continue to protect me. And I believe the Ambassador was involved in his apprehension, as well, correct?"

"Yes, you're Majesty," Al answered.

"Ambassador Elric contributed most of the force behind the attack," Lan Fan elaborated. "He allowed the man to be trapped and captured."

"Then my thanks is twice fold. Thank you, Ambassador."

"You're welcome, you're Majesty."

"And since you are now present, I offer you my condolences over the death of your surrogate Granny. She made fantastic chicken." Al snorted slightly before staring at his hands. Mei, who had been making her way away from the assassin and back to her chair, sat down and placed a comforting hand on his back.

"I think that's enough excitement for one session," Ling said, standing up. The rest of the court stood with him and they all bowed at the same time. "Dismissed. Ambassador, Princess Chang, you may accompany me."

It wasn't so much of an offer as an order. It stemmed from the rest of the court not being able to leave the room before or walking in front of the Emperor. When he invited someone to accompany him it was allowing them to walk beside him as he exited which was an honor that no one would want to refuse. Somewhere along the line it became more of a requirement than a request.

"I don't know how you manage to do that almost every day year after year," Mei said as they hurried to his side. Lan Fan took Jun-li back and rocked him gently as she stood. "We've only been back for two weeks and I think my heads already about to explode from all the formalities. I can't wait to get back home."

"Aw, Chang, are you really that eager to leave me? I'm gonna be sad."

"You'll get over it."

"Ling, I am going to retire with Jun-li," Lan Fan said quietly as they started toward the door. He nodded, kissed her on the check (making her blush and a good number of the court tut in disapproval), then kissed Jun-li on the forehead.

"I'll see you later, my love." The red color deepened.

The red color deepened and she quickly bowed her head and exited through a different door than the one most of the rest of the courtiers were leaving through.

"So, Alphonse, how soon exactly are you planning on leaving?"

"As soon as possible. Ed was pretty adamant about that," Al said, grinning. "I love it here in Xing, don't get me wrong, but I'm excited to go home."

"Alas, I can't begrudge you that. Amestris is a pretty nice place, but home's infinitely better."

Al laughed a little. "Something like that."

A pair of guards who were flanking the doors opened them wide for the court to leave. They both bowed deeply to Ling who nodded at them. Mei bowed her head at them slightly too out of a sense of politeness. It was for this reason that she didn't see it.

But he did.

"Everyone get back!"

Her brain had hardly registered what had been said when the guard's jumped into action, not even thinking. As soon as they heard Al's shout, they began pushing Ling and the members of the court back, protecting them with their own bodies. Lan Fan's oldest cousin wrapped his arms around her, shielding her completely. Just in time too because within seconds she heard the sounds of an explosion.

Then she realized that none of the guards would have been able to make it to Al.

"Alphonse!"

She could hear him yelling out in pain.

"Al!"

Then there were more shouts, but these sounded more like war cries than alarm. Then a loud crackling.

"AL!" The man holding her back wouldn't let go of her! She tried to fight against him but his grip was too strong. Why wouldn't he let her go! Al needed her! She managed to pull her head under his arm and see what was going on. Her heart nearly stopped.

Al was on the ground, blood pouring from his left leg. There was a large group of men that were trying to make their way towards the courtiers , climbing over mounds of earth and out of holes that Mei was sure hadn't been there before. Even so, there were quite a few of them that were managing to make their way through the obstacles and Al was busy trying to stop the bleeding from his leg. He was clearly in pain though and she wasn't sure he'd be able to keep creating ways to stop or slow them down.

"Al!"

He turned around and caught sight of her.

"Get out of here!" Then he clapped his hands again and a great wall rose up, separating him from her and the rest of the courtiers. They were yelling and beginning to run away. At least six separate guards were working on getting Ling away from the area, surrounding him like a turtle shell.

"Princess Chang we must leave!" He was trying to pull her away but she was still fighting against him and between the opposite forces they weren't moving.

"Al! Al!"

"Princess!"

"Let me go! He needs me!"

"Princess!"

"Did you see that! They're going to kill him!" He was still holding, trying to drag her away from him. She had to help him there were just too many men. She didn't doubt his abilities to hold them off for a while, but it looked like he had already lost a lot of blood and was probably loosing even more. It was incredibly difficult to preform alkahestry on oneself, something not even she could do. She doubted that Al would be able to do it and if he tried without the experience… it could end badly.

"AL!"

"Princess! We must leave you are one of the ones they are trying to kill!"

"I don't care I need to help him!" she yelled, elbowing him in the side. This would work on almost any other assailant, but with a trained Xingese palace guard…

"Please I need to help him!"

"I know you care for the Ambassador, Princess—"

"I love him!"

He was so shocked by the statement he let her go. She didn't waste a single moment, but immediately launched herself at the alchemized wall, throwing the knives as she lunged. The circle she drew with her foot when she landed on her knees was probably dangerously close to not perfect, but it worked because a perfect square fell out of the wall.

The guard tried to catch her but she already gotten through to the other side.

Her imagination couldn't have served her so well. Al was leaning against the wall, gripping his leg which was still bleeding profusely. There was blood pouring from a cut on his forehead and his arm. He was breathing heavily.

A couple of the men were trapped, either in holes or in hands or in other venues but there were still men close and getting closer. They all looked very angry, probably because Al had done such a royal job of ruining their attack. And Mei had to admit it was rather well planned out. Send the first assassin to give them a sense of complacency then the bomb to hopefully catch the Emperor and his closest advisors and friends. If that failed, or even if it worked, they had the men to send come in and kill the rest.

"Mei, get out of here!"

"I won't leave you!" she shouted at him before throwing a few knives in the men's directions. With a quickly drawn and assembled control circle, she caught three men in alchemized traps. She reached for a few more and found herself with only three left.

_How did I end up with three left? I only ever use them in fives._

One found its way to a man's crotch (she was confident he wouldn't be involved in the battle from them on—nor have any other kids) and used the other two were randomly thrown in men's directions. She had to get Al out of there.

"Al, we have to go! You're bleeding too much!"

"No! They're gonna hurt someone if I don't stop them."

"Then trap them in a huge box or something. You are going to die if you keep bleeding like that!" He was already an ashen grey color that was worrying her and probably loosing coherency. She was surprised his transmutations were still coming out correctly.

"Princess, the threat is imminent! You and the Ambassador must leave!"

Mei hadn't even realized the guard had followed her until he spoke. She nodded at him. "Help me get him out of here." The guard pursed his lips and tried to carry lift him with an arm thrown over his shoulder, but that made the leg bleed even worse and Al almost passed out.

"I will need your assistance if I am to get him out of here without him dying, Princess." But the men were close again. Where were they coming from? They weren't getting pushed back and she was fairly sure that most of the men from before were out of action in one way or another.

"Throw a flash bomb. We can get him out of here in the meantime and close off the area." She picked up her five knives out of the ground.

"What if they have more bombs, Princess?"

"We'll be careful. Summon a number of guards. Right now we have to get him out of here!"

"Very well. Hurry!"

He had passed out and Mei lifted his legs as high as she possibly could while the guard carried him under his armpits. Mei would have had time to close her eyes if he hadn't shouted before letting the flash bomb loose. They hurried toward the hole that she had made, trying to make their way through it with Al in-between them.

It was tricky but they managed to maneuver him so that they could both get through. Mei threw the knives she had picked up right about the hole she had made and, using her previous circle, closed the hole and created more walls to encircle the rest of the assailants. It wouldn't last very long, especially not if they had bombs which was very likely, but it would have to do for now.

"I fear he might need to lose the leg, Princess," the guard said, grimacing. Mei didn't pay attention to him. He could not lose that leg. He and Edward had spent too much effort getting it back. It wouldn't be a simple alkahestric array though. She could close up the worst of it though. Probably. Maybe.

"Al, don't you dare die on me. I will not let you. I love you too much."

What if it was infected? And his pants leg was in the way. And if it was damaged down the muscle…

The blue light crackled and sparked.

"Al! Al are you alright?" He wasn't waking up, probably because of the blood loss, but he had to wake up. She had to make sure he was alright. His pulse was there, not strong, but there.

"Al! Wake up!" She slapped his cheeks, anything to get him to wake up. She was surprised when the guard pushed her out of the way. He had a small container of water which he emptied onto Al's face.

"Al!"

His golden eyes opened and he stared at her blearily. "Mei?"

"Thank goodness you're alright!" she said, hugging him tightly. "Al… I…"

"Thanks…"

"You would have done the same for me."

"I haven't yet though…" he said, blinking and slowly losing consciousness again. "I think I should go home now…"

She was still hugging him tightly after he had passed out again and a number of guards summoned to deal with the still trapped would-be assassins.

* * *

><p><strong>Once again, Al almost dies and Mei plays a part in saving him! Whoohooo! This was also planned for a long time. A very very very long time. Like as long as I've been writing the story...<strong>

**I think it turned out pretty good, considering... We've got a love confession to a guard and to him unconscious! And yes, sorry, but he really was unconscious and did not hear her.**

**Please review!**


	43. To The Beginning

**Something had been brought to my attention and I think it's a good topic to address. So I have some questions for you:**

**a) Do you think this has pretty much ceased to be a "one shot" collection?**

**b) If yes, do you think it could be returned to being one?**

**c) Do you think it should be returned to being one?**

**d) If no, should it be rewritten to be a continuous story or should it simply be put in chronological order and the AUs removed?**

**I would really like your guy's opinions. They mean a lot to me! Please please chime in! Especially if you have any ideas ;D**

* * *

><p>Al really did not want to wake up.<p>

At all.

In any way shape or form. He didn't want to be half awake, half asleep. He didn't want to almost be asleep. He wanted to be out of it cold, no clue about the world around him.

But his brain simply wouldn't comply.

"Noooo," he moaned, trying to squeeze his eyes together even tighter.

Then they shot open when he felt something very forceful slam into his chest.

"What the—!"

"Al!" The black hair was unmistakable. Or at least it was to him.

"… Mei?"

"You're alright! Thank goodness!" She got off him (he was lying down on something hard, what was it? Where was he?) only to grab his head, looking into his eyes, then hug him again. With his head squished uncomfortably against her shoulder, he was able to see with the one eyes not seeing purple fabric, small room with two windows. A colorful and green landscape was flying past.

"I was so worried! I knew they had given you drugs but you still weren't waking up and I was checking your breathing every few minutes and Al don't you ever scare me like that again or I will kill you myself!"

"… What?"

She let go of him and scooting backwards until she was sitting on a stool just next to him. It seemed he was on a bed in a train? But they weren't traveling from Xing to Amestris because the landscape outside was green. Then he looked at Mei and winced.

It was obvious she hadn't been getting enough sleep recently. There were dark circles under her red eyes (she had been crying?) and her clothes were wrinkled. None of the servants in the palace would ever let her stay in wrinkled clothes which must have meant they weren't near the palace.

He was very confused.

"You don't remember?"

"… Remember what?"

"In the palace. The court session was over and we were leaving when you saw a bomb…. It exploded and then a group of men came, probably to try and kill Ling and some of the other prominent leaders. You held them back, but you got hit by a lot of shrapnel. You were bleeding heavily and would have died if I hadn't —well, me and the guard— hadn't saved you."

"Really?"

She nodded solemnly.

"My leg?"

She nodded again a reached over to pull the blanket covering his legs off. He propped himself up on his elbows so that he could see and felt slightly faint when he did.

"... I think I remember now…"

Mei bit her lip, but he hardly noticed. His leg was covered in scars of different shapes and sizes, as if the flesh had been fed through a shredding machine and sewed back onto his leg. It was a horrible red and black blotchy color that made him slightly scared. His other leg had fared much better, but it was still covered in numerous scars.

He didn't realize he was breathing heavily until Mei told him to breathe slower.

"It's going to heal. They wanted to amputate but I told them they weren't allowed to. I thought that you had worked too hard to get your body back to lose any part of it."

"Yeah…" Al forced a smile onto his face. "But think about how cheap automail would be for me? I've got a family connection."

"Al… how can you take this so calm?" Mei asked, rubbing the corner of her eye.

"Maybe I'm just taking Ed's example. You wouldn't believe how calmly he took almost dying. He would freak out in the moment and then in the hospital, even if it made him spit up blood, he would be yelling, screaming, and fighting to get out as soon as possible."

"Don't you dare do that!" Mei said quickly, standing up and pointing at him authoritatively, which only made him laugh.

"Okay, okay!" She sat down only after he promised that he wouldn't try to be his brother and take care of himself while he was healing.

"Where are we?"

"We're on a train in Amestris. As soon as we were sure that you weren't in immediate danger, Ling gave me permission to get you on a train and take you directly to Ed in Rushvalley. There are probably a lot of Elders that aren't happy about it and they're probably going to create quite the storm when I get back, but I really don't care. The hospitals are probably better equipped to care for you here and there are a lot of medical facilities in Rushvalley that can care for problems like this. Plus, being close to Ed and Winry should help you a lot."

"Thanks Mei," Al said sincerely. He was really touched that she was willing to take heat from the Elders for him. Especially in the situation. And though he wasn't happy with the fact that she had been in serious danger, he was glad that she had managed to save his life.

"Yeah… you're welcome. Just… don't ever make me do that again. My heart's stopped over a hundred times throughout this whole ordeal." A small flutter of hope started in Al's chest. Did that mean that she possibly cared a more for him than just as a friend? If she was_ that_ worried about him…

"And you couldn't have done that to Ed or Winry! Ed's going to throw a fit when he finds out about this, and probably try to blow something up."

"He doesn't have his alchemy anymore, Mei," Al said, smirking slightly as she railed against his brother.

"Oh he'll find a way. I wouldn't trust him to control himself in a situation like this. He might even get so angry he'll punch Truth in the face and get his Gate back."

He laughed and she joined in with him a little. "I wasn't completely joking," she said through the giggled.

"Yes. The real secret to getting things for nothing is to punch Truth in the face. Then he'll give you back anything he took from you. Wish I had known that."

"Of course it's not getting something for nothing! He'd be getting his alchemy back in return for a lot of guts and daring."

"Something Brother has in spades."

She laughed with him before throwing her arms around him again.

"Don't you ever almost die on my again, okay?"

"Deal."

* * *

><p>"If you think you're ever going back to banana country again—"<p>

"Banana country, Ed?" Ed turned a light shade of red and looked away from his brother's teasing look.

"Winry's been trying to get me to stop swearing around the kids. Banana's the closest she'll let me get to swearing without the wrench." Al laughed and reached down for the luggage at his feet. He was in a wheel chair that Mei had taken (stolen) from the palace. She had also packed for him and when he was looking through it earlier, he was pleased to see that she had done a good job of it, bringing the essentials that he had brought with them in the East as well a number of other things she knew he would want back home.

"But if you keep doing that they'll think that every time someone's offering them a yellow curved fruit that they're swearing!"

"Good point Al. You can bring that up to Winry and see how she likes it, okay?"

Ed started pushing Al forward and Mei followed behind with her own luggage. "I will Brother. Wouldn't want them to avoid their potassium because of a little word issue."

"Of course not. It's for their own health!"

"Of course, Brother." Ed grinned and ruffled the top of Al's head.

"I've missed you, little brother. I meant it when I said you're never going back to that country. I won't let you."

"I think you missed the part of the equation where I've been appointed by the Fuhrer to continue to go to that country, Ed. I'm getting paid to do so. And plus, you'd be surprised, but I actually like it there."

Ed stopped dead and Mei almost walked right into him. Al turned around to look at his brother, but Ed had turned around and pointed angrily at Mei.

"How dare you and your brother poison my brother's mind? You've polluted it! There will be retribution beansprout!"

"Poison his mind? You've got to be kidding me! Xing is a country rich in tradition and culture and it wasn't created by a mad man looking for souls to sacrifice! We have more diversity and—"

Al was laughing so hard as he was pushed through the streets of Rushvalley (successfully avoiding any of the fanatic engineers who would likely jump on Al in the hopes he needed the wheelchair because of missing limbs) that he almost added punctured lungs to his list of injuries.

They approached the shop proudly boasting the name "Garfeil-Rockbell" and as soon as they got within eyeshot of it, a small blond missile came firing at them, shouting.

"Daddy!"

"Hey!" Ed said happily, reaching out and catching his son in outstretched arms. "How you doing little man?" Al raised his eyebrows at the use of their mother's nickname for Ed, but didn't comment.

"I'm good! Mommy's with baby Sara!"

"Yeah? Why don't we go show her a new guests, huh?" Benny frowned slightly then looked around and caught sight of Al in the wheelchair and Mei standing behind him. His eyes widened.

"Who are they?"

"That's your Uncle Al. He's my brother." His eyes widened further and he started squirming to be let down. As soon as his feet touched the ground he hurried over to Al in the chair.

"Hi! I'm Benny! Daddy says you Uncle!"

"Yeah, I'm your Uncle Al."

"Why you in chair?"

"I got hurt really bad and my leg's don't work for right now. But I'm going to work really hard so that I can walk again and won't need your daddy to push me around all the time."

"Okay! Who you?" he asked, pointing at Mei this time. She looked worried for a second, not quite knowing how to introduce herself, until Al answered for her.

"She's your Auntie. Aunt Mei. She's gonna be here as long as I am helping me get better, alright?"

The toddler nodded and started chattering happily, even though most of what he was saying was along the lines of "Mommy had baby Sara. Baby Sara was hungry and crying. So Mommy feeding baby Sara!" Mei took over pushing for Ed who went up ahead and grabbed his wife.

"Al? Al!" Winry said happily as she came into view. Al smiled when he saw her, happily shouting "Winry!" and, laughing when she tried to hug him awkwardly in the chair.

"What happened to you?"

"That idiot Ling has been endangering him again."

"Brother!"

"Al was actually being incredibly brave. He saved the lives of probably every member of the Xingese court, even if that did lead to him endangering his own," Mei answered, smiling at his blush.

"She's trying to make it sound better than it actually was. There were a lot of guards around that actually protected all of them. I just held off the threats until they could all get to safety."

"And thereby saved everyone."

"Of course he did," Ed said confidently. "I wouldn't expect my brother to do anything less. Benny, when you grow up if you can't be like me, be like your Uncle. But try to be like me more."

"Okay Daddy!" Benny chirped happily, smiling. He was still sitting in Al's lap and playing with his hands. "Auntie Mei! Take me to Mommy!"

Mei blushed a little and picked the boy up, handing him to Winry who placed him on her hip.

"You don't mind do you? Him call me Auntie, because if you do—"

"No, Mei it's fine!" Winry said enthusiastically, reaching over and giving the Xingese princess a hug. "You practically are already."

Mei blushed deeper.

* * *

><p><strong>Little Benny's cute, huh?<strong>

**Please answer the questions stated at the top. If you've forgotten and don't want to scroll up and check, I'll copy and paste them here:**

**a) Do you think this has pretty much ceased to be a "one shot" collection?**

**b) If yes, do you think it could be returned to being one?**

**c) Do you think it should be returned to being one?**

**d) If yes to both, should it be rewritten to be a continuous story or should it simply be put in chronological order and the AUs removed?**

**I would really like your guy's opinions. They mean a lot to me! Please please chime in! Especially if you have any ideas ;D The review buttons just down there, folks. I don't care if you review anon or signed. I would prefer signed so that I can thank you, but if you don't want to log on that's fine :D Please and thank you!**


	44. Words in Ink

**I just have to thank you all for the overwhelming response to my question last week! I was so shocked/amazed/grateful. We got over 250 reviews. Almost 260! Seriously, so much thank you I can't even describe it. I love you all so much. BIG HUGGSIES!**

**Pretty much everyone agreed that this is not longer/never was a oneshot collection. However many of you disagreed as to the action I should take. But there were enough people telling me to just keep writing it the way I am that that's the action I'm going to take.**

**If any of you want to know what the chronological order is, please PM me and I can give you the order. If you want to give me your email I can even send you the Microsoft Excel Time Line file (though if any of you do I am going to be cutting out anything that happens past this chapter. No cheats.)**

**And while we're talking about emails, I would just like to point out that you can't actually put your email in a review, censors it. So you can either be clever ( closet fullmetal fan at aol dot com ) or... not let me get your email?**

**Oh, and huge ultra-mega super thanks to Exile Wrath who added this page to TV Tropes Fullmetal Alchemist Fanfiction/Shippings page! Thank you! Though she did say "she could use some work, especially with the long AU chapters that pop up" but hey, I'm not bitter. XP Seriously though. Thank you!**

**And once again: THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! I LOVE YOU GUYS!**

* * *

><p>"Hello, little guy," Al crooned, waving his finger over the crib. The baby giggling and tried to grab his finger but kept missing it.<p>

"Al, she's not a little guy, she's a girl."

"I'm well aware of that, Winry," Al said in the same voice he was using to address Sara. "She's one of the prettiest girls on the whole planet, it would be an insult to call her anything else."

"So why did you call her little guy?"

"… Because of the voice I'm using?" he said, looking up and returning to his normal voice. Winry rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. "She really is adorable, Winry."

"Thank you, Al. I'm surprised at how good you are with her. She's not terribly fond of people she doesn't know. She doesn't even let Paninya hold her.

"Really?"

"Uh-huh." Winry wiped her oily hands on a towel. She was still not actively working, but they not even Al, Ed, and Mei combined was enough to get her to stop working in her workshop. She was still designing arms and legs and would occasionally go into her workshop to try to figure out a specific joint or gear when she needed to. Al and Mei showing up had only encouraged this practice as it gave her more babysitters to rope into watching the kids while she did so.

"Well I'm honored that Sara Elizabeth Elric thinks so highly of me."

"You should be. She's never going to get to bestow that honor upon another man ever again. To let them hold her?"

"Oh yeah," Al agreed, laughing. "Ed's going to kill any man who even thinks about touching her in the future. Boyfriends are going to be treated to the most extensive background checks that can be afforded by the entire Amestrian military."

"You'd better count on it," Ed said, walking in the room, Ben hanging off his pants leg. Mei was trailing behind. "I'm pulling every favor I have the moment a guy lays eyes on her."

"Edward Elric, don't you even think about it!" Winry said, hands on hips. "Do you want to ruin her entire life?"

"I wouldn't be ruining her life, I'd be saving it from horrible evil men who are trying to steal her from me.

"Evil men like you?"

"How am I an evil man?"

They started to argue and Al sighed. Benny was laughing and clapping his hands as his parent's fought, probably because they did it so often it was just entertainment for him.

"Come on, Mei, let's leave them to it." Mei smiled and followed him, grabbing the arm he offered her. It had been about two months since they had arrived in Rushvalley and in that time Al hand managed to, with a great deal of blood, tears, and effort, shed the wheel chair. He was now walking with the same cane he had been forced to use after getting his body back, something that he did partially regretfully.

"_I never wanted to have to lay eyes on this thing again," he had said, lip curling when Ed presented it happily._

"_Come on Al! At least people will stop mugging you in the streets because they think you lost a leg and that's why you're in the chair!"_

Only partially true, as it turned out. A lot of automail engineers in the area had assumed that the reason Al needed the cane was that his automail was faulty and tried to convince him to switch to their engineering. "It's almost worse than when people were trying to figure out which automail engineer made my armor!" he had complained one day as they were out and about the streets.

"Where are we going?"

"I don't know. Around? I heard someone in town talking about a restaurant here that serves really good food, we could try to find that."

"Sure."

"Help me look for it. It's called uh… 'Reynolds Old Style' apparently." The continued walking, Al looking every which way. It was only after a few moments that Mei spoke up slightly nervously.

"Uh… Al?"

"Yeah, Mei?"

"… I can't read anything here."

He stopped walking and frowned turning towards her. What was she talking about? She read great! She read faster than he did… when the writing was Xingese… She had no idea how to read their letters.

"Oh."

"Yeah…"

"Okay. I know what we're going to do then," he said firmly. "You got to beat my head in with learning how to read and speak. Now I get to beat yours in. Come on."

And he turned around and started marching back towards the house.

* * *

><p>Al had far too much fun.<p>

He was enjoying every single moment and Mei felt bad for the first time. If this was anything like what she had done with him, she needed to say sorry. Her head was going to explode. There was just so much information to try to memorize. 26 letters that had to be combined in numerous amounts of way and they had to be the right letters in the right spot or it would be a completely new word and some words were spelled the same as other but they meant completely different thing and some letters had different sounds and they sounded different when they were combined with other letters…

She much preferred Xingese.

"How do you stand this?" she asked finally as Al made her write sentences. I love cats. I love cats. I love cats. I love cats.

"That what I thought as you were teaching me. Now keep going. When you're done you can learn a few more words! Carrot, table, oh, you are going to have so much fun with -el and -le. And then suffixes!"

She was severely tempted to hit him.

Reading was slightly better, but not by much. With writing she was able to simply let her hand memorize the letters and repeat them a handful of times. But with the reading she had to figure out things on her own. Al would help a little but he tried to make her figure things out herself.

"Al-ch-e-my"

"Alchemy."

"That's how you spell alchemy?"

"Yup."

"Why?"

"… because it is? Why does the symbol for cat look the way it does?"

"… I hate your language."

"You'll learn to love it."

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><p>"Recite the alphabet."<p>

"A, B, C, D, E, F, G… H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P… uh… Q?"

"Q," Al affirmed, nodding his head.

"R, T—"

"R, S, T."

"… fine. R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y…Z."

"Very good!"

"I'm not a child Al."

"No, but you're learning the things a child does!"

"I could say the same about you learning how to read scrolls."

"You could. And I didn't punch you then, you can't punch me now."

"Try me."

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><p>She slowly started to get it. It was long in coming, but since it was all she had to do besides taking care of Benny and or Sara, she worked on it almost day and night. The biggest problem she had was the types of reading material they had in the Elric household: alchemy or automail. That was pretty much it. There were a few medical books (which also served as Benny's bed time stories).<p>

But, yes, she did eventually get it. Winry let her try to help her out with customers (reading off who needed what with only a small amount of error-thank goodness). Ed wouldn't let her leave the house without her reading a paragraph from that morning's newspaper. Al sat there and grinned at her, whether because he was taking pleasure in her frustration or pride in his work, she didn't know.

When she got to the point where she could pretty much read anything that was given to her (albeit slowly) and was writing a fair deal as well, they started to loosen up. Winry offered her a position as a secretary of sorts, which though she was very happy, she declined. As a joke though, she sent a letter to Ling in complete nonsense (Ling pig first to be barbecued on the celebration of the first chair moon) just to see how he'd react to it.

Then she found one books she hadn't found before. It wasn't written in the neat print of a typewriter, but the slanted looped writer that used to make her heart jump when a royal page would bring it to her.

Al's Travel Journal.

She opened it up and tried to make sense of the first page.

_This is Alphonse Elric, writing from an inn near the capital of Kinru of the country Xiongnu…_

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><p>Al was having a pretty good day. He had taken a walk around the outskirts of town away from the crazy automail freaks and made it back without too much trouble. He was hopeful that he'd be able to rid himself of the cane soon and start walking on his own. He would be reluctant to leave Amestris and Ed again, but there was an idea that was starting to form in the back of his mind that he was very excited to start working on.<p>

He walked into the front room of the automail shop and yelled happily that he was home. Winry called a hello back and he smiled as he took off his shoes.

"Where's Mei?" he asked his sister-in-law. He wanted to know where she was. He had found a book in the market that he thought would be perfect for her to try reading. It wasn't as complicated as some of the books they had at home, which would be a great advantage to her. Not that she wasn't intelligent, oh no she was very intelligent, but there's only so much practice you can get when you're trying to figure out the word "hypoglycemic" for the first time.

"I think she's in the common room!"

The shop consisted of two parts. The bottom floor was almost completely dedicated to automail, the shop, the front room, the machines ect. Upstairs was the living quarters, which consisted of four rooms, one bathroom, and a small living room of sorts that connected them all.

Sure enough when he mounted the stairs he found Mei curled up in one of the large chairs looking very absorbed in a book on her lap.

"Hey, Mei," he said brightly, walking over to her. He dropped the book on the table in front of her. "I got this for you while I was out. It's a romance novel. I thought it might be easier to read than one of Ed's advanced alchemy books. What are you reading now?"

He didn't wait for an answer but peeked over her shoulder and nearly had his heart stop.

She was reading his travel journal.

The journal in which is confesses his love for her.

Many times.

He looked closer at the words and realized she was on the page where he did so for the first time.

…

…

He snatched the book out of her hands so fast he didn't even quite realize he had done it.

"Hey!" she said, angry. "I was reading that!"

"No you weren't." She was glaring at him now.

"Al!"

"What?"

"Give it back!"

"No."

Mei crossed her arms angrily and started tapping her fingers against one arm.

"I was doing the same exact things you were, what's the big deal? Give it back!"

"It's mine."

"Al! I was getting reading practice that_ you_ told me I had to get."

"No with this," he said, shaking his head and putting the journal behind his back. So she hadn't read far enough. Thank goodness. Or maybe she had and was just acting like this because she didn't feel the same way and didn't want things to be awkward between them. Or she hadn't actually gotten that far. "I bought you a book to read, read that."

Mei glared again.

"Why can't I read it?"

"It's personal."

There was brief silence.

"But you were just about to confess something!"

Crap. She had almost gotten that far. He glanced flipped through the pages and almost shouted out in relief when he realized that the part where he actually said the words "I'm in love with her" was on the top of the third page.

"Nothing important. Now read your cheap romance novel. Which is spelled…?"

"Cheap, romance, or novel?" she snapped, clearly miffed.

"Any one."

"Fine. Romance: R-O-M-A-N-C-E."

"Very good. Enjoy." He flashed her a quick smile before standing up and hurrying into another room as quickly as he could, breathing hard. That was far too close. She had almost… what would he have done? How would she have reacted?

Al ran a hand through his hair, trying to calm his breathing.

Too close.

"… May I ask why you ran into my room acting as thought you just ran away from a handful of demons, Al?"

That did nothing to help Al's heart.

He jumped and turned around as fast as he could, catching sight of his brother lounging in a chair next to the queen-sized bed.

"Seriously, Al. I mean I was just here enjoying a sandwich when you run into here breathing like a pack horse…"

Al had to blink and hold a hand against his chest just to get his heart to stop trying to jump out of his chest, let alone slow down.

"What was that about Brother?"

"What do you mean, what was that about? This is my room, you ran in here. What's that in your hand?" Al looked down as saw his journal, still held tight in his hand.

"Nothing… just… nothing."

"Uh-huh… and why did you run into my room?"

"… No reason." Ed scrutinized his brother for a few minutes in which Al shuffled his feet awkwardly.

"Okay Al. I'll let it slide. But next time you have to give me a real reason or I won't be so lenient."

"Of course Brother."

* * *

><p>They had been waiting for hours to make sure he was asleep. The figure opened the door as silently as they could, hoping and praying that the baby wouldn't wake up and blow the entire operation.<p>

Stealthy as a shadow, they crept across the small living room and opened the door vertical to it. The door creaked slightly and they froze. But the occupant inside didn't make any sign that it affected them. The figure crept on.

Luckily for them, the object they sought was in plain sight. The man probably thought that no one would dare try to steal it here, in his place of rest.

The hand reached out and snagged the book right off the bedside table and flipped it open directly to the third page.

_I'm in love with her._

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><p><strong>Yes, I know they're not really speakingreading English but I only speak/read English so... Please review. I don't think you realize how much it makes my day when you do**_  
><em>


	45. Popping In

**I'm gonna clear the air right now: No, you do not find out who read the journal this chapter. This chapter takes place before the events of last weeks. And I'm gonna apologize for the length of this chapter right now too. I actually wrote it A LONG time ago (like, soon after I decided "I want to write a collection of stories about AlMei!") before I had length standards... I tried to add more to it, but there was only so much I could add before I was just fluffing up to the point of loss of substance.**

**And I would like to add a little thank you to fmabaddict who told me to just post it. You saved me so much agony. I am a very indecisive person.**

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><p>Hot is a typically relative term. Obviously, a Drachman would find weather in the South hot enough to justify walking around in underwear. Someone used to the South would have to bundle up to walked around Central in winter<p>

However there were only a few people who would say Rushvalley wasn't "hot" even in winter. Those people usually say something along the lines of "sweltering".

Al and Mei who had just left rather cool temperatures were effected greatly by the dramatic change. Winry tried to make excuses, saying that it was abnormally hot for this time of the year, but it didn't do much to change the fact that Mei spent all of her time near the fan upstairs.

Unfortunately for him, Al did not have that opportunity.

Well, supposedly he did, but Ed did not and therefore neither did Al. It was on this particular day that the two brothers had traveled to the mountain to try and find a certain type of ore Winry claimed could only be found in that area. It was hard work, first to locate it and then to find_ enough_ of it, even with Al's alchemy.

When they finally returned, they were so sweaty that Winry took one look at them and said point blank.

"You're not coming in unless you're walking straight to the shower."

Then turned around and walked back into the house.

The brother's blinked, looked at each other, then bolted for the door.

"Come on Brother! You don't want my fragile self to get left out in the sun for too long, do you!" Al said and he tried to push his brother back.

"If half of what you've said about your time in the East is true, I'm sure you can handle it!" Ed retorted, pulling him backwards. Al fell on his face and Ed shouted triumphantly, jumping over his brother's prone form and to the door. "I have a wife to impress!"

He wasn't expecting for Al to grab his ankle, making him fall face first on the ground.

"Too late for that Brother!"

Ed started crawling forward, launching into a crouching and then running pose, barely managing to escape Al's fingers trying to close around the shirt he was wearing (which was actually Al's) and broke the threshold of the house, slamming the door in his brother's face.

"Ed!"

"First come, first serve, Al!" he shouted back at his brother, tongue out in a childish gesture that somehow gave him a great deal of satisfaction.

He was grinning as he threw the shirt on the floor right outside the door and in no time the water was on, his pants were off, and he was in.

After spending so many hours under the hot sun with almost no respite, the cool water of the shower felt amazing. It wasn't as cold as he would have liked (right now jumping in a snow drift at Briggs sounded good), but he would take it. Netter than sitting outside in the sun for another twenty minutes. Maybe Winry would bring him out something to drink. Probably wouldn't stick around long. Ed imagined they both smelled pretty bad.

With this thought in mind, he started applying soap more liberally.

Halfway through the shower, Ed decided to indulge himself in humming a few bars of a Western song he and Al had encountered while in the area. It was actually a rather relaxing process. However when he realized that it was probably well past fifteen minutes, he guiltily he thought of his younger brother standing outside.

Almost as soon as this thought crosses his brain, though, the bathroom door opened. Ed was going to yell at Winry for intruding, until he caught sight of the black head of hair, not blond. There was only one person in the flat who had black hair—Garfiel was away visiting family.

The shock of actually having Mei walk in on him taking a shower, though he would never admit it later, made him squeak in surprise. Apparently she heard him, because she started snorted.

"Come on, Al, you can't tell me you're still shy about—"

"I'm not Al!" Wrong thing to say. Hearing a voice other than Al's made her turn around, hand in her clothing for a knife. Unfortunately, that allowed her a full view of, well, everything.

Needless to say, they both turned an impressive shade of red. Ed started swearing colorfully and Mei ran out of the room.

After rushing through the last of his shower in a huff, Ed threw on his clothes, not even caring if they were still drenched in sweat. Mei was standing in the hallway hitting her head against a wall.

"What are you doing?" he growled at her. She glared right back.

"Trying to erase the image from my mind. It's not exactly a pleasant one."

"What was that about? Why one earth did you just walk in on me in the shower! Our walls are thin, you could hear the water running!"

"Well I—"

"Is that some sort of custom in Xing? Privacy doesn't matter? Ling did end up in places he shouldn't be a lot. I swear if you've infected my brother—"

"Edward—"

"You just walked right on in—"

"I only did it because I thought you were Al!" Mei yelled over Ed's rant.

"Why would you think that? We're completely different!"

"Well his shirt was outside the door!" she countered. It was true; Ed had worn one his brother's old shirts that day. He knew he was going to be doing hard manual labor and didn't want to get any of his shirts extremely ruined.

"You should know well enough by now that I wear his shirts sometimes!" Ed managed to splutter. Then Mei's statement managed to compute entirely.

"Hold on, why does the fact that you thought that I was Al make it all right?" Mei blushed slightly. "You guys haven't…"

"NO!" she protested immediately. "There's usually only one bathroom when we stay in hotels and he tends to take a long time. Usually it's fine if I just pop in to grab my toothbrush."

Ed stared at her with a ridiculous look on his face. It was a mix between shock, revulsion, and eye twitching.

"You haven't seen anything have you?"

"No. This was the first time anything like this has ever happened and you can believe me I'm not happy about it!"

"Winry doesn't seem to mind."

Mei started gagging and had to turn around. Ed, somewhat satisfied with what his comment had done, turned and stalked down the hall towards where Al was sitting outside in a chair, sipping a drink that Winry had given him.

"Oh, good, you're done— Brother, what's wrong?"

"That— that girl."

"… what did Mei do?"

"She walked in on me while I was showering!" Al stared at his brother for a few moment.

"Well, Brother, you were wearing my shirt. We both pull it off before we go into the bathroom and throw it on the ground. She probably thought you were me—"

"Al!"

"… What?"

"It doesn't both you at all that you're completely okay with the beansprout walking in on you _while you're showering_?" Al frowned a little and mumbled something that Ed didn't quite catch. He said as much and Al turned a light pink color.

"There was usually only one shower in rooms we were staying in in the East, if that. If she just needed to nip in and brush her teeth…"

"Let me get this straight. You have no problem whatsoever with her walking in on you while you're showering."

Al's color deepened a little and he shook his head.

"What if she looked?"

"Mei wouldn't do that Ed. And it's not like it's a habit or anything, we just have an agreement that in certain situations it's okay…"

There was more eye twitching on Ed's part. Then a slight look of horror when a thought occurred to him.

"… you haven't… seen anything have you?"

Al blinked.

"Well, Ed as long as she thinks I haven't… BROTHER I'M JOKING!"

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><p><strong>Like to add a little disclaimer here too: I've always had problems with cliche "walking in on the other while in the showerchanging ect." because of a) the situation's just never really appealed to me, b) it didn't seem very AlMei-ish because of the nature of their relationship in my mind. But then I thought up this and it was very funny... I hope none of ya'll mind or felt extremely uncomfortable reading.**


	46. Chicken Soup

**Sorry that this one is a little bit short AGAIN. It's mostly just fluffy cute feels. And it doesn't answer the cliffhanger. But! I promise to you that next chapter we find out who stole the journal and the results thereof! It's gonna be AWESOME. I hope. Anyways.**

**I would also just like to say that since we're close enough, 300****th**** reviewer gets my undying love and gets to choose 1 prize from the options that I will present to them!**

**Honestly guys, I am so beyond flattered with all the amazing reviews you have given me. If you think about it we hit 200 reviews chapter 39-40. It's only chapter 46 and we're almost at 300! DUDE THIS IS AWESOME! YOU ARE ALL MAKING ME SO HAPPY ITS CRAZY!**

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><p>"Ah- ah- ACHOO!"<p>

A common sound in the Elric home as of late.

It had started with a customer who had wondered into the shop with a stump instead of a left are and a slight case of the sniffles. Winry had taken him in, examined his arm, took some measurements, and set an appointment to install the ports.

The next day she sneezed.

Two days later she was bedridden.

But, as with all sicknesses, it spread.

Ed, who was in Central for a meeting with Mustang about a diplomatic problem in the West, avoided it all completely. But since he was gone, caring for the engineer fell to Al and Mei.

And Benny, but he did a better job at making himself sick that helping out his mother. The toddler became another patient. They had to be very careful to keep Sara cared for and away from both of them.

"Al!"

Al looked up from the simple chicken soup that he was preparing and sighed heavily.

"Yes, Winry?"

"… I 'eed tissue!"

"Coming!" He turned toward Mei who was trying to chop up some celery to go into the soup which she quite frankly didn't understand. "How is soup flavored like a chicken supposed to help a cold?"

"Okay," she said, and ran up the stair, taking them three at a time to reach the room where Winry waited in her misery.

"Unc'l Al!"

"What is it Benny?"

"My thro' hur's!"

"The soup's almost done!"

"AL!"

"Coming Winry!"

"Whhhaaahhhhh!"

"Audy Mei!"

"I'm right here Benny, you don't have to yell."

"My nose!"

"Fee' my baby! 'ow!"

"Mei!"

"Uc'l!"

"Al!"

"MEI!"

So really, with all the running back and forth and making soup and grabbing tissue and helping to the bathroom to throw up and cleaning it up when it missed and reading stories and soothing and running and fetching and ordering and taking care of one of the most stubborn women ever born and her son, it wasn't surprising at all when the two caught the colds themselves.

"Winry's starting to get better; her temperature's going down a lot. It's almost normal." Mei said happily, falling into a chair in the living room. Al, collapsed in the chair across from her, body splayed out across the floor smiled weakly.

"Thank goodness."

"I agree. I never want to be in the same house as them during a cold again."

"Imagine what it would have been like if we had had Ed here sick too," Al said, smiling faintly. "If you think taking care of these two is bad, you should try taking care of Ed. Especially in the hospital. He's terrified of needles and shots—"

"He's what?" she asked, leaning forward. Al grinned and nodded.

"Yup. Terrified. You have to pin and tie him down to give him a vaccine or any kind of shot. He's infamous in the hospitals. For a while they talked about giving him his own room, but then they couldn't decide which hospital it would be in. East or Central."

"You're joking."

"Nope."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"…wow." Al would have burst out laughing. If he could have. He was pretty much too tired to do so.

"What's it like in Xing? You looked at me like I was absolutely crazy when I mentioned chicken soup, so I assume you don't place much stock in it there."

"No, we don't. In the Chang providence we usually eat a large bucket of what I like to call 'Liquid Death'." This time, the reason he didn't laugh was the completely serious look on her face.

"… that sounds very pleasant."

"It's not in the moment. Basically it's the hottest and spiciest soup you can eat," she explained, reaching up and rubbing her nose. Al watched her with wary eyes. If she got sick too… Come to think of it there was something tickling the back of his throat.

"It's clears up your sinuses like… nothing else."

"Really? Wish that was our problem. They don't seem to have any problems getting the stuff out of them, they just need to stop it." It was really starting to annoy him. He coughed a bit into his hand, but it was still there.

"At least they're coming out of it. We'll all be healthy and won't have to deal with this again for a while at least. Maybe Ed will end up catching it when he comes back. There have got to be thousands of Winry's germs in that bedroom."

"Or if he catches it directly from her? They stick around for a long time," Al suggested.

"Maybe. Then Winry can take care of him while we sit back and laugh. Ha-ha-h—achoo!"

He froze and she stopped then looked up, terror in her eyes.

"This doesn't necessarily mean- ACHOO! No! I can't- achoo!"

Al couldn't help it. It didn't matter how tired he was. He started laughing as loudly as he could until it was interrupted by a bout of uncontrollable coughing.

Then he said something very Ed-like that Winry would have made him replace with "banana" if she could hear/think properly.

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><p>"… Wiiiinnnrryy…" he croaked out miserably the moment he woke up. He had not slept well at all, thanks to the lumpy couch, constant coughing and nose blowing, and occasional running to the bathroom to throw up. The hot soup in the mug next to him had long ago been drunken up and now only tempted him with its tantalizing fumes.<p>

"Coming Al!" his sister in law cried out, before running into the room with a tin pan full of steaming chicken soup. "Do you need any tissue or …?"

"Soup." Was the only response she got, so she just took the liberty of filling it up to the brim. Al almost attacked it, slurping it down in a messy fashion. Then whimpering and breathing heavily when it scalded his tongue.

"Me too," Mei squeaked pathetically from where she was curled up under a giant pile of blankets in the chair. Xiao Mei nodded and started digging under the blankets. When someone said that the panda did everything Mei did, they were serious. Xiao Mei had caught the virus shortly after her master and was suffering right along with them.

"Of course," Winry answered and poured a healthy portion of the soup into Mei's own mug.

There was silence after the blond left the room as Al and Mei worked on diminishing their liquid.

"I hate being sick."

"Agreed," Al said before needing to cough.

Silence again, except for a bit of sniffling.

"And you're sure there's nothing alkahestry can do about this?"

"I don't know! Probably, but it'd have to be a specialist who trains to be able to heal colds. I never cared about sickness, I wanted to make sure that I nor my-my ACHOO! Friends didn't die."

"Well it seems possible. Being sick's got to be some sort of disturbance in the flow of qi. Just… fix it."

"Let me ask you a question Al. Have you been able to feel any qi this entire time you've been sick?" The Amestrian paused.

"No…"

"It's really hard to because your qi is so messed up. We couldn't do anything even if we knew how to."

"What about assassins? Are you seriously helpless when you're sick?"

"Pretty mu-ah-ah…" she breathed heavily, having avoided the sneeze. "Much- achoo!"

He started laughing, then coughing. Then sighed pathetically and shivered.

"Can I have some of those blankets?"

Mei clutched them around her possessively. "No."

"Please?"

"No! I'm freezing! They're mine!"

"No they're not! They're Ed and Winry's! Who are my brother and sister-in-law which means they're more mine than yours. Just a few!"

"Alllll…"

"Please!"

"No!"

"Pllleeeeaaassseeee!" Then he pulled a dirty trick. He pulled a nasty, dirty, evil trick.

The puppy-dog eyes.

She averted her eyes the moment she saw them.

"Please?"

Then she made the mistake of turning her head.

And she was his.

"Fine. But I'm not giving them up." Al frowned, confused, until she grabbed onto a huge fistful of blankets and plopped down next to him on the couch. "Do you want them or not?"

It wasn't quite possible to see a pink flush on his red complexion, but he was fairly sure he blushed.

Bu he was really cold.

So he pulled her blankets over him and cuddled up close to the princess under the blankets.

"I hate being sick," Mei reiterated.

But for right now, Al didn't think it was that bad.

Then he started coughing again.

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><p><strong>Please review! And while I'm thinking about it, please check out the poll I have on my profile, I'm very interested in what you have to say. It's cooommmmiiiinnnnnggggggg! I know exactly whenwhere/how! Just need the question answered. (When you check out the poll, you'll understand)**


	47. Photograph

**And here's the big chapter you've been waiting for for the past few ones! Yay!**

**Sorry it ended up a little short (*feels really bad that there have been three short chapters in a row*) I completely thought that it was going to end up longer but then it got later and I got busier and my friend JUST KEPT COMING UP WITH GOOD IDEAS THAT I COULDN'T NOT PLAY WITH.**

**Blame her.**

**Oh, and congrats to theprincessdude who got review 300! You still have yet to choose your prize, so if you're seeing this chapter, please check out your PMs and send me an answer :D**

**Hope you enjoy!**

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><p>Strand over strand. Over strand. Over strand. Over strand. Over… dangit. Mess up. Unwind. Strand over strand. Strand over strand. Simple and repetitive. Gather more. Strand over—<p>

"This is not working."

"Al, you're doing fine."

"No! It's not! I keep messing up!"

"It's not that big of a deal. If fact I don't even really need my hair done, I'm not going to be in the picture." Al frowned and his fingers paused in trying to get the hair to hold together. For some reason the thought didn't even occur to him that when Winry announced a family picture that Mei wouldn't be in it.

"… right."

"I mean, I'm not part of your family."

"No. You aren't. Of course not." Was it his imagination or were her shoulders dropping just the slightest bit? He couldn't tell. Yes? No?

"But everyone knows I do your hair, I can't have it looking like I don't know what I'm doing," he finished lamely, trying to cover up the mistake.

"Of course not. But you don't have to go crazy over it or anything, okay Al? Just… do the two buns."

A staple in Mei's hair styles, it was one that Al was much more familiar with making than the waterfall braid that he was attempting. To large braids started as close to the crown of her head as possible, then twisted into a bun and hooked under itself to create to buns and accompanying loops.

He barely had to think about it.

"So how is your romance novel going?"

"Fine, I guess. I'm actually quite annoyed with the character Mira. It's completely obvious that she's in love with the brother, but she's still trying to stay in a relationship with him even though it's also obvious that he's cheating on her."

"Why is she staying with him if she loves the brother?"

"Because she doesn't want to break his heart. But like I said, it's also obvious that he's cheating on her. I honestly don't see why she doesn't see that."

"Maybe she doesn't want to," Al suggested, already twisting the first braid into a bun. "Human's don't like to see what they don't want to."

"Or they see only what they want to," she pointed out as he shoved a pin into the bun to hold it together.

"True. Maybe she is blinded by the act he's putting on of love."

"Maybe."

"Maybe."

"Maybe the author just didn't think it through and was looking for the opportunity of more drama."

"… you're probably right." Al didn't need to see her face to know that Mei was grinning.

"Of course I am."

"And humble too."

"I don't need to be humble. I'm the most highly favored of all the Emperor's sisters. I am friends with some of the most influential people in Amestris. I don't need this thing this… "humble-ness" that you speak of." Al smiled and rolled his eyes.

"I believe the word you are looking for is 'humility' and it's a very highly respected virtue."

"Bah. Who need it?"

"The virtue or the finer points of grammar?"

"Either," Mei responded in Xingese. He laughed as he pinned the bun on the other side of her head and picked the language up himself.

"So you think yourself above me?"

"Of course I do. You grew up in a town that's main export is sheep and wool. I was raised to be Empress."

"Sheep and wool are very important exports, Your Highness. I consider myself honored to have been involved in such an important item.

"Oh yes, who would the military do without their wool?"

"Who knows? They might be forced to use cotton! How disastrous that would be."

"Completely. No one would be able to take them seriously again. Officers might actually be able to survive in the heat. I can assure you're the Xingese would lose all respect."

"And that would be a tragedy," Al said as he finished pinning the loop. As was customary, Mei stood up and hugged Al. She seemed to linger a little (or was that his imagination again) before pulling away and bouncing away from him.

"Thank you, Alphonse!" she chimed in Xingese as she did.

Ed passed her on his way into the room.

"You aren't going to change into anything else, Brother?" Al asked as Ed sat down. He was dressed in nothing nicer than a blue T-shirt and jeans. True, Al wasn't exactly wearing anything designer in a black t-shirt covered by a nicer one, but it was a nice black shirt.

And it was clean.

Something that Al had over his brother.

"Not really a reason to. If I tried Winry wouldn't like it and would make me go change. Either that or it'd get ruined."

"Ed."

"What?"

Al rolled his eyes. Honestly, sometimes, his brother.

* * *

><p>"Al! You weren't smiling!" Mei reprimanded, before tapping the photographer on the shoulder. "One more picture, please. Al, you'd better smile this time."<p>

Al bit his lip.

"Brother, can I talk to you?"

Ed raised an eyebrow before nodded and handing Benjamin to Mei.

"Sure. Inside, right?" Al glanced at the people gathered and the photographer wearing an annoyed look.

"Yes."

Ed nodded again and walked into the back of the house, heading all the way upstairs to the common room. Al was grateful for that. He didn't exactly what to say what he had to say in front of everyone. Ed walked directly to the couch and fell down, shooting Al an expecting glace.

"So?"

"… can we include Mei in the picture?"

Ed' eyebrow raised.

"Why?"

Al turned red.

A brilliant shade of bright tomato red.

Then he mumbled something.

"Sorry, Alphonse, didn't quite catch that."

"… because… she's such an important person to me?"

"In what way?"

"…"

"Alphonse?" Ed asked, obviously holding back a grin. "Is there something I need to know about your relationship with the beansprout?"

Al was biting him lip, obviously debating within himself. Finally he sat down as well, playing with his hands.

"I… I love her Ed."

Al was expecting a number of reactions from his brother. A grin was among them, but rather low on the list of likely possibilities.

However, it was exactly what he got.

"…Ed?"

"I've been waiting to hear you admit that for weeks."

"What?"

"I read your journal," he said flippantly. "And I saw you admit it there, I've been waiting for you to admit it to me out loud ever since. And a bit before."

"You read my journal!" Al shouted, standing up angrily. Ed just nodded, completely unfazed.

"Oh please, Al. You come running into my room looking like you ran from death itself, holding the thing? And you thought I wouldn't sneak into your room and take a look? You sleep like a rock; I could have read the entire thing. And I'm sure it would have been fun, but it opened right to page number 3, which at the top of you confess and I quote 'I think I'm in love with her'."

Alphonse Elric was not a violent person. But he felt completely justified on tackling his brother. Which wasn't terribly easy considering his leg had barely healed to the point of not needing the cane.

"That was private!"

"Hey! Hair pulling is illegal!"

"No such thing! OW! You bit me!"

"You licked me!"

"Ed!"

"… guys?"

Both of them stopped, mid-tussle, and stared at Mei who was standing at the top of the staircase looking at them with a mixture of confusion, amusement, and slight fright.

"What?"

"Winry told me to come get you. The photographer's getting annoyed."

"… right."

Both boys scrambled to their feet, Al glaring at his brother, and followed Mei back to the area where the photographer was waiting. She kept giving them backwards glances that would make Ed grin and Al blush.

"Guess what?" Ed proclaimed happily once they got there. "Mei's gonna be in the picture!"

"What?" Mei frowned and Winry raised an eyebrow. She and Ed seemed to share a glance and then both nodded. Then she grinned.

"Sure!"

"Why?" Mei asked, still frowning.

"Well you and Paninya… a-and Mr. Garfiel too!" Al said, hesitantly, red. "You're all really important part of us and our little family here… it'd be a good idea to document that."

Paninya, who had been helping out with the picture grinned and popped to her feet. "Sure!" Mr. Garfiel actually squealed and bounced over in front of the camera. The photographer frowned, but then shrugged and put his head under the black curtain.

"Are you sure?" Mei asked, frowning. "You don't have to…"

"No," Ed said, pushing her towards the backdrop of the shop behind them. "You're definitely a part of this picture, Mei darling. Smile wide."

An instant look of fear entered into her eyes. "Why are you acting so happy towards me?"

Al just sighed. "It's fine Mei. He's just being an idiot."

"Hey!"

Al smiled nervously at her and she, still glancing worriedly at Ed, moved so that she would be standing on Ed's side.

"Are you all finally ready?" The photographer asked testily.

"Yes."

"Good. One. Two. Three."

* * *

><p><strong>So yeah. It was Ed. I know a lot of you were hoping forexpecting it to be Mei but this was actually decided a long time ago... But don't worry. We're close. Like, super super close.**

**Reminding you again, please check out the poll of my profile. What you decide serious will decide what happens. I'm perfectly happy with it no matter which one you choose.**

**Please review!**


	48. Meeting in the Marketplace AU

**To compensate for the recent short chapters, I'm giving you a super huge large insane crazy long AU! Yay!**

**Modern time period.**

**There are references to Ed and Al's past, but I didn't really explain any of it because that would just take too long and make it more complicated. It's pretty cannon actually, only they were more heavily involved with the military and then released. **

* * *

><p>Al hadn't been expecting to take very long when he went to the market. He was new to the area and hadn't had the time to make friends with any of locals. Ed had already left after helping him move in, going back to his family. Before he had he had made one last ditch effort to convince Al to stay with him in Amestris, but Al had turned him down again, just like he had the other times. There was nothing there for him except for Ed and his family.<p>

That was before a little girl almost knocked him off his feet.

"Hey, hey! Are you alright?" he asked, bending down so that he was almost as the girl's eye level. Like everyone else in Xing, she had black hair and large black eyes that were staring at him, terrified.

"I can't find my mommy!" the girl sniffled. Al frowned.

"Where did you last see her?"

"I don't know!" the girl wailed, about to cry. "I was just going to go look at the toys since I haven't had a new one in a while and she was gone!"

"Hey, hey," Al said, trying as hard as he could to be soothing. Her poor mother was probably freaking out about now. She could have gone anywhere in this huge area. Open markets. Who came up with the idea? Well, they've probably been around longer than shopping malls, Alphonse, he told himself reasonably. "I can help you find your mommy, okay. She's probably looking for you too."

"She is?"

"Mhm. And I would bet that she's probably just as scared as you are right now that she can't find you."

"Really? But Mommy doesn't get scared. Not even when the mean man was yelling at her today."

"What mean man?" Al asked, to keep the girl talking. She was less terrified when she had something to focus on, like talking to him.

"Mommy calls him the 'land-ord. He kept asking her for money but she didn't have any. He's stupid. He kept asking for it and Mommy had to tell him a lot that she didn't have it."

"Oh really? What did he do then?" The little girl frowned again.

"He said something really mean that mommy tells me not to say. Then he told her that she was 'victed and Mommy got all sad and we came here. Mommy says we aren't going to go back to where we were but I don't care. I didn't like it there very much, it was always really loud."

"Where there a lot of people there?"

"Uh-huh," she answered, matter-of-factly. "And no one was nice to Mommy and she would always yell at them."

"What about your daddy? Did he ever yell at them too?" He wasn't really focusing on the what the child was saying, more focused on searching the crowd for a panicked mother, but her response made him stop momentarily as she frowned in confusion.

"I don't have a daddy."

"You don't?"

"No. It's just me and mommy."

A single mother and daughter who had just been evicted from their home? This little girl was probably all the woman had left- she had to be completely frantic.

Then he heard the calls through the crowd:

"Nina! Nina!"

Al headed for the voice, instinctively knowing that only a parent would sound that hysterical. As he broke through the crowd, he saw a small-ish woman turning around yelling. She had the same dark hair that all the Xingese did and large dark eyes that were wide in panic.

"Nina!"

When Nina caught sight of the woman, her eyes lighted up and she smiled.

"Mommy!"

The woman turned and when she caught sight of them her eyes instantly softened in relief. "Nina!"

She ran over and took the toddler right out of Al's arms, holding her close. "Don't you ever run away from me like that again, Nina, do you understand? I was worried sick. Any number of things could have happened to you!"

"I'm sorry, Mommy," Nina responded, patting her mother's head. "But it's okay, because Mister Al-fos found me and he helped me find you!"

This seemed to be the first time that she had even recognized that Al was there, because she turned around with confusion in her eyes before seeing him.

"Oh. Thank you so much for finding my daughter. She likes running off too much for her own good and it's so hard to keep track of her sometimes… Thank you for not letting anything happen to her."

"My pleasure, ma'am," he responded warmly. "She's an incredible little girl."

"She is," she agreed, smiling at her daughter. "Thank you. I don't think I'll ever be able to repay you, but…"

"No, that's fine. Really." She smiled at him (she had a rather nice smile) and was about to turn around when a thought occurred to him.

"Um, ma'am?" She stopped and looked at him inquisitively. "I know it's not really any of my business, but your daughter told me about what happened today." She looked at him with a confused expression and he clarified. "About your eviction." Her eyes instantly hardened.

"You're right. It isn't any of your business." She turned away sharply and would have marched away if he hadn't called out again.

"Wait, ma'am! I didn't mean to offend." She stopped walking but didn't turn around. "Actually I was hoping… well not hoping, wondering…"

"Yes?"

"Well, to be frank, I have a very large apartment and only me in it. You just lost your home. I have no intentions of letting a lone woman and her toddler daughter, especially a toddler daughter as cute as yours, spend a night anywhere but a warm home if I have anything to say about it."

Now she did turn around.

"You're offering to let us stay in your apartment?"

"If you want to, yes. And if you don't already have somewhere to stay of course. If you have family in the area, no doubt you would rather stay with them than with a complete stranger, which I totally understand."

"Why?"

"What?"

"Why would you offer that?" she asked, glaring at him mistrustfully.

"Because it's the right thing to do?" he answered, likewise confused. It was polite was it not? It was something no one would even think about doing back home, much to his and his brother's advantage. "I don't want you end up on the streets or anything horrible like that. Some pretty horrible things could happen to you there, especially Nina. It's no place for a little girl like her."

"I won't be able to give you money," she answered, as if she was still looking for the catch.

"I wouldn't ask money from you," he said, shocked. Who would do that? "It's an honest offer!"

"Mommy, can we?" Nina asked, speaking up for the first time. "Mister Al-fos was really really nice to me!"

The woman frowned and stared at her daughter for a few moments then back to Al. She looked uneasy, but eventually caved.

"Okay. Thank you very much, Mister…"

"Alphonse. Alphonse Elric."

"My name is Mei Chang."

* * *

><p>He gave them the guest room to have together. In his experience, it was always better to stay close to someone you were familiar with in a new environment. Plus, Mrs. (he didn't know if it was Mrs. or Ms. so he simply went with Mrs.) Chang was probably worried about her daughter and would want to keep him close.<p>

In the morning, he prepared a light breakfast for the three of them before leaving for his job at an office that managed contracting work. He didn't really need the job, he had all the money he would ever need from he and his brother's escapades with the military during their younger years, but had taken it more as a way to meet people and have something to do during the day. Wryly, he noted that he didn't seem to have very many troubles meeting people considering he had already invited two into his home.

When he returned home after the day was over, the entire mess was cleaned up and his entire apartment looking cleaner than before. Nina and her mother were lying on the floor playing with small, worn blocks of wood that looked like they had been dragged through every battle Al had ever seen. He hadn't made any comment, but instead joined in with the game they were playing, Mei staring at him with the same mistrustful gaze from before.

The next day, when Nina woke up, she found three new toys sitting on the coffee table waiting for her.

The morning after that, Al woke up and found breakfast already prepared for him and Mei sleeping curled up on the couch. He smiled softly at her and then eagerly dug into the fluffy scrambled eggs she had made. They were prefect. He made sure to leave enough for her and Nina to eat later.

They settled into a little routine. He would wake up and find breakfast already made, sometime Mei awake and sometime not. Often when she was awake, she would be reading something (he had offered her free reign to his extensive book collection) and he would catch her eying him over the edge of the pages while he ate. Then he would go to work and when he returned they would be playing with whatever new toy he had bought Nina.

So, he was surprised when he returned home one day and found the front room empty.

"Mei?" he called out, confused. "Nina?" They were usually here. And there was obvious evidence of them having been there recently (mostly in the form of toys. Everywhere) so it wasn't as if they had left and not come back yet.

"Mei?"

He wandered around towards her bedroom when he heard muffled noises.

Noises he was too familiar with in his lifetime.

Though they were usually made by his brother, not the woman he had invited to stay with him because she had nowhere to go.

His footsteps softened as he approached the door. The noises had stopped.

He opened the door with as much force as he possibly could.

He was only half-prepared for the sight in front of him. Two unfamiliar and masked men stood in the room, one holding Nina's limp form over a shoulder and the other leaning over a tied up Mei. Her hands were bound and there was a dirty gag in her mouth. Her face was red and there was a dark spot growing over her right eye.

They had been beating her.

And they were trying to take Nina.

Those were the only two facts that registered to him as he stared down at the men with anger in his eyes.

"It's not nice to tie people up," he said calmly. "I know, I've been tied up enough in my lifetime."

The one who had been hitting Mei moved forward and ran at Al with a knife extended. Al didn't even flinch. He had faced much worse. The man swiped with the knife and Al stepped backwards before retaliating with a kick of his own. The fight that ensued wasn't terribly long, made longer only by the fact that the kidnapper was skilled enough to slice Al across the cheek.

Mei was actually extremely resourceful in the situation. The second man, trying to escape with Nina while Al was fighting, ran towards the window, only to trip over a chair that she had managed to kick towards him. Then Al managed to knock out the first man and quickly took out the second before he could get away with Nina.

She was out stone cold, but still breathing, so he laid her down on the bed before working on removing Mei's bindings.

The gag was first, and as soon as it was out of her mouth she started alternating between asking about Nina, thanking him, explaining the situation with such interchanging that he could barely understand was she was saying. Then her hands and feet were free, and she ran over to Nina, stroking her hair and checking her pulse and holding her tightly.

As soon as she was positive that Nina was alright, she stopped, looked Al directly in the eyes and thanked him.

"That was… incredible. I don't think I could ever thank you enough. If they had managed to take her…"

She shuddered and held Nina closer.

"I have no doubt you would have hunt them down with a vengeance," Al said, trying to lighten the situation a little. "And I would have helped you."

She looked at him with and odd look in his eyes.

"You would have?"

"Of course. I wouldn't want anything to happen to her."

It was as if something had broken between them. She started crying and then hugged him tightly. "Thank you. Thank you so much."

He, slightly confused, started patting her back and hugged her back.

"It's okay, no problem, no it's alright. Really!"

She continued to hold onto him and he knew that whatever space he had given her up to this point had to be closed.

So he asked her.

And, as he held her, she explained.

She explained everything.

Nina came from a previous marriage. She had been rather young, barely old enough to get married when she had met the man, Austin Grey. He wasn't Xingese which had made him seem exciting and exotic. She had fallen madly and deeply in love with him, and he with her. Or so she thought.

Soon after they were married, he had proven himself to be the completely opposite of the charming gentleman that she had thought he was. He was rude and cruel, even going so far as to physically beat her sometimes. She had stayed with him in the hopes that he was simply going through a hard time, but then the months stretched into years.

When she found out she was pregnant, she went to the court and demanded a divorce. It took forever and he fought against her at every turn, but eventually the court ruled in her favor, giving her a restraining order against him and stripping him of any paternal rights.

And she had run here. To this town far away from him. And run into nothing but trouble.

This wasn't the first time men had come for her daughter. She didn't like to admit to it, but they had come before. She had barely held them off most of the time. This time they had caught her completely by surprise and managed to tie her up before she could retaliate.

Al was, quite frankly, horrified.

That all of that happened to her and have her still be that willing to keep her daughter happy?

"You're amazing," he told her when she was done explaining. "To go through all of that…"

She smiled weakly then reached over and touched Nina's face. "It was all for her."

* * *

><p>Mei began to trust him a lot more after that incident. It started with her eating with him in the morning. Then they began to talk while they ate and Al found himself running late to work most days. She was more willing to let him play with Nina and eventually came the day when he returned home for her to tell him to watch after her while she left for a job interview.<p>

It was short and she was home soon, but she started leaving more and more often and trusting him to watch her for even longer periods of time.

"Are you really so eager to get a job and move away from me?" he asked joking one evening before she left. She blushed slightly and walked out the door.

The next night, she didn't have an interview.

* * *

><p>"Elric!"<p>

Al looked up from the papers he was organizing and turned around only to almost turn directly into his boss's face.

"Yes, sir?" Al didn't really know why he always added the 'sir' when addressing his boss. It probably had something to do with how long he and his brother were involved with the military. He had tried to stop doing so but found it easier to just give into the habit than fight it.

"I've been hearing a few rumors about your activities outside of the office." Al frowned. He hadn't really been doing anything outside of the office. Mostly he stayed at home and watched Nina while Mei went out and looked for a job.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, sir."

"I am referring to the Changs."

Al blinked. "The Changs, sir?"

"It's a small town, Elric. We all know about everyone and we all know about the Changs stowed away in your apartment." Al was still terribly confused.

"I'm giving them a place to say until she finds a job and home, yes."

"Well, than you can just pack up your things and leave."

"… excuse me?"

"I don't need your kind here," his boss said again, leering at him.

"My kind?"

"The kind that associate with the filth of the town. You can leave. Don't come back."

Al rose to his feet which put him a good five inches above his boss. The man cowered backwards, but Al voice was almost scarily calm as he responded.

"I don't know what gave you that impression, sir. But they are not in any way 'filth' and I will continue to support them until they can stand on their own." He paused, then smirked slightly. "And you're lucky I'm not my brother, because he would have just threatened to make sure you couldn't ever."

Then, barely stopping to grab his coat, Al stalked out of the office.

* * *

><p>"Al, you really shouldn't have."<p>

"No, no, please I insist," Al said, opening in the door for her. Blushing slightly, she walked in, Nina supported on her hip. "The owner owes me a big favor, so it's not even going to be expensive, I promise."

She was always so worried about him spending too much money over her and Nina. In fact she had argued many times over it and trying to pay for things herself. Especially since she had learned that he had been fired over her two days ago. He had had to argue with her for a hour about making her stay in that situation. Every time she would try to avoid hurting him, Al would shake his head exasperatedly and remind her that he actually had enough money to support all three of them for a lifetime.

"You're sure?"

"I'm positive."

He led her over to a table already set up and gestured at the already laid out menus. There weren't that many people in the room, probably only two or three other table were occupied. "Pick anything." Nina frowned.

"They don't have pizza!" Al and Mei both laughed and he pushed a brightly colored piece of paper towards her.

"Why don't you check out the special menu for pretty little girls like you? And when you're done figuring out what you want, they can bring some crayons for you to color the menu however you want." The excited look on the girl's face was more than enough to make both adults laugh again.

"Seriously, order whatever you want," Al told Mei again as she saw her eyes flit over to the cheap sandwich area. She blushed, the nodded and he was gratified to see her eyes move over to the section with real food.

"Hello, my name is Robert and I'll be your server for today," a man in an apron said, standing next to their table. "Would you like any drinks while you're ordering?"

"I'll just take a water," Al said, nodding at the man.

"Lemonade for me and for my daughter," Mei answered, smiling slightly. The waiter nodded, jotted a few things down, dropped a pack of crayons on the table for Nina, and moved away. She started considering the menu again.

"So do you think the service will be quicker because there are so few people?" he asked, trying to make conversation. Nina was happily coloring away already.

"That would be nice."

"I hope so. I'm starving."

"No offence, Al," she said with a smile, "But you're almost always hungry."

"Yes, I'm always hungry, but right now I'm starving! I haven't eaten since breakfast."

"How will you ever survive?"

"I don't know. I think I'm growing… faint… hard to… hear…" he joked, throwing a hand to his forehead. "Mei… tell my brother… I love him…"

"Al!" Nina said, laughing. "You're not really dying!"

"Are you a doctor," he said, putting his hands on his hips. "Do you know how to officially diagnose a man? How do you know I'm not dying?"

"Because you're silly," Nina proclaimed matter-of-factly. Al laughed and wiggled his nose at her which made her laugh.

"Ma'am?" They all looked over and saw the waiter with a single drink in his hand.

"Yes?" Mei answered, slightly confused.

"The rest of your drinks are coming, but another gentleman bought this drink for you," he said, putting it down in front of her. It was something red with a large… olive? in it.

"Who?"

The waiter pointed over to a table in the corner of the restaurant, where a single man was crouched over the surface of the table pushing something around with a fork.

"Would you like to order now?"

They ordered, Nina getting pizza like she had requested earlier. Mei, Al was happy to note, did not go for the cheapest option on the menu, but something that sounded genuinely delicious. However she kept staring at the drink, worry clearly etched in her face.

Nothing happened in between placing their orders and receiving them. Al passed the time by playing with Nina and talking about what she was drawing. She told him all about how the two people she was drawing where two brothers who loved each other very, very much but didn't have a daddy or a mommy. Nina felt very sad for these two boys and went into great detail about their lives and how they would fly around from place to place trying to find their daddy.

She really was the most amazing little girl.

They were halfway through their meal when the last extra family left the restaurant.

The man in the corner table stood up as soon as the door close behind them and started walking towards them. Mei glanced over at him, worriedly, until she stiffened.

Al hadn't been paying attention until this happened when he looked at her in confusion then at what she was looking at. He didn't see anything particularly frightening about the man beside the fact that he was the only other man in the restaurant and was walking directly towards them.

"You didn't drink what I sent you," the man said when he reached their table. Mei's eyes had gone from wide with fear to narrowed with anger and hate in seconds.

"What are you doing here?" The man frowned almost comically.

"Come on, Mei darling. Don't you want to see me?"

"I have a restraining order. I don't want to see you or have you coming within five hundred yards of me ever again. If you do not leave right now I will call the police."

So this was him.

Her ex-husband.

"I have ways around that," Austin Grey said, leering at her. "Beside I think I have a right to meet my own daughter."

"No you don't," Mei spat at him. "You've been stripped of all paternal rights. You're lucky I haven't had any evidence to blame you for the kidnappers. Now get out of here or I will call the police. I don't want to nor will I ever want to see you. I've been happier than I've ever been with you out of my life and I would appreciate it if—"

Then he slapped Mei across the face, making Nina cry out.

"Mommy!"

Al felt his blood instantly boil and he stood up to his full height, which unlike his brother, was quite considerable.

"Mr. Grey, I will not stand for you harassing her. Your ex-wife and daughter want nothing to do with you and have an order from the court to prove that. I would suggest leaving the premises immediately, because if the law will not take action, I will and I can promise you that it will not be a pretty image."

Grey just glared at him.

"Who are you? Some Amestrian pansy who's never actually worked for anything in his life? I suppose you're just after her cause she's easy—"

Al's fist met his nose with a pleasant crunch.

Grey doubled over holding his nose before retaliating with a punch of his own. It met Al's jaw and Nina screamed.

"You think you can just steal my wife and kid from me, do you?" Grey spat, blood from his nose spraying as he did so. "You're wrong!"

"Al!" That was Mei.

"I didn't steal them, you left them," Al said calmly, hands naturally making their way into a fighting position. Grey's eyes almost sparkled with the opportunity to fight and he rushed at Al, fist flying.

Unfortunately for Mr. Grey, he was unaware that Al had had a… rough childhood and had split up and participated in many, many, many fights in his life with various people of all types of ages, races, and sizes. Al grabbed his swinging arm and used it as leverage to twist the man around. A swift chop to the back of the neck made the man groan.

A kick to the small of his back sent him stumbling away, only to whirl around and come back with an enraged howl. Al stepped neatly to the side and caught the man in his arms, dropping him to the floor.

"Mei, I think you and Nina should head back to my apartment," Al said, his eyes hard as he glared at the man at his feet who was groaning and trying to pull himself up. Mei nodded and picked up her daughter, heading for the door. Al followed them closely, his hand going to Mei's back as he pushed her in the right direction. They were almost to the door when a hand was placed on Al's shoulder.

He didn't even stop to think, just swung around and punched Grey hard enough to knock him out solid.

* * *

><p>Things were silent in the car as they drove back to his apartment. Al was gripping the steering wheel so tightly his fingers were white and Mei was playing quietly with Nina's hands. She had already called the police to tell them about Grey breaking the restraining order and that he had even bodily harmed her then give them his location. The little girl wasn't talking either, just staring sadly at her mother.<p>

Parking and walking into the apartment was also done in silence. Evidence that a toddler had been living in the house was obvious. Toys were spread over almost every surface and most of the furniture had some evidence of being treated badly.

"You'd better get Nina to sleep," Al said roughly. "It's getting late."

Mei nodded and moved into the guest room, Nina still tucked firmly in her arms. Al sat down on the couch and ran his hands through his hair, not remembering or caring that he still had Grey's blood on his hand.

Things were not supposed to have gone that way at all. It was supposed to be the completely opposite of what had happened. How had that man even managed to find her? There were supposed to be legal precautions to prevent him being able to.

"Scumbag," Al muttered under his breath. He could have said much worse words to describe Grey, but he didn't feel right using them with a three-year old in the next room.

"Al?" he lifted his eyes up. Mei was standing in front of the coffee table, looking hesitant.

"Does she want me to come in and tell her a story?" Al asked, hopefully. She just shook her head.

"No, she's already asleep. I was afraid she wouldn't be able to, but her eyes shut the moment her head touched the pillow."

"That's good," he said, smiling hesitantly. He didn't know how he was supposed to react to this. Treat it like it hadn't happened? Try to move on?

"Al… about what happened tonight, I just—"

"I'm sorry," they said at the same exact time. Then looked at each other oddly.

"What do you have to be sorry for?" Mei asked, a mix of confused and bitter. "It was my fault that creep even showed up, he was coming after me and Nina. I got you involved with all of this. I should be the one who's sorry."

"No! None of that was your fault!" he protested immediately. "It's not your fault he found you. I'm sorry for making you watch all of that. I kinda… lost it. I don't think I've been that angry since—" he cut himself off, biting his lip. Since Ed almost gave up, he finished in his head.

"To be honest… I'm really glad you did that," Mei said, smiling almost ashamedly. "I've wanted to do that myself to him for a long time."

"Maybe I should have let you do that," he joked.

"Maybe you should have."

She moved over and sat down next to him. But she sat down on his left side, the side that left barely enough room for her to fit between him and the arm of the couch. He almost thought he could feel the heat of her leg through the fabric of his pants. The heat flushing his cheeks however was in no way imagined.

"Thank you, though."

"It's what any decent person would have done," he said. His voice sounded odd to his own ears. The increased tempo of his pulse couldn't have been imagined either.

"I'm not just talking about tonight, though. You've done so much for me and Nina. I was really afraid for how we were going to survive and then you just swooped in like an angel. I wasn't expecting you to let us stay a week, let alone you being as kind and loving towards us as you have been. Nina especially. She's really become attached to you."

He noticed moisture starting to gather in the corners of her eyes and the "No problem" died in his throat.

"Hey, don't cry," he said soothingly, wiping them away with a thumb. "It's okay."

"No it's not! You've given up so much, you're home, you're time, you even gave up your job for us! And now something like this happens! We're just trouble for you."

"You are not trouble," he said firmly, forcing her to look into his eyes. "I don't care what ends up happening to me, I just want you to be safe. I don't want you to ever think that I regret doing any of this." Mei sniffed a few times and leaned into his hand, which he hadn't removed from her face. Al was hit the sudden urge—need—to kiss her.

"Mei, I…" He bent down so his forehead was almost touching hers, asking for permission. She wasn't pulling back.

"Yes?" she breathed.

"I… I think I—"

Nina shouted from the other room.

"Mommy! Mommy!" She was crying. Mei stood up immediately and hurried into the room, leaving Al sitting alone on the couch. His curses were soft but violent.

"Idiot. How could you pull something like that? She's in pain! That was her ex-husband who used to beat her! Pulling a move like that right after… idiot!"

He stood up and started pacing back and forth in the area between the coffee table and couch, muttering to himself.

"Al?" he looked up again to see Mei leaning around the corner of the hall way. "She was having a pretty horrible nightmare, so I'm going to go to bed now so I can be with her, okay?"

He nodded mutely, expecting her to nod and disappear back into the room but instead she lingered there for a few moments, indecision on her face.

"Uh… goodnight."

"Goodnight."

Then she did disappear, face slightly pink.

* * *

><p>He woke to the smell of something positively delicious.<p>

Al did not normally like getting up in the morning. He made exceptions when there was delicious food waiting for him.

So he threw the covered of his bed back and slipped on an old tee-shirt before making his way towards the small dining room. Just as he had hoped, there was a delicious meal laid out on the table. A huge delicious meal.

"What's the occasion?"

Mei appeared from the kitchen holding a casserole dish full of something that smelling wonderful. Normally she made a healthy batch of eggs, some bacon or sausage, and maybe orange juice. This was... a feast.

"The police just called. They called to report that they have Austin in custody. The man who called said that if the judge rules in our favor he can be sentenced for up to fifteen years. So it's celebrating. It's also a thank you."

"I would say you don't have to thank me," he said, pulling out a chair, "but if you thanking me means I get a breakfast like this, I need to do more things to make you want to thank me."

She smiled at him and sat down herself.

"Where's Nina?"

"She's still sleeping. I didn't want to wake her up." He nodded and grabbed the bowl of scrambled eggs, scooping a large pile onto his plate.

"Did she wake up a lot during the night?"

"Actually no, she slept pretty soundly after I got into bed with her," Mei answered, helping herself to the eggs after he put them back down on the table.

Thing fell to silence as they served themselves and began to eat. True to his nose, everything was delicious. Absolutely perfectly prepared.

Probably some of the best food he had ever had.

"Al," Mei said quietly after he finished scarfing down the quiche she had made. He looked up; she was staring at her hand folded in her lap.

"Yes?"

"I think we need to talk."

He nodded. They did. "About last night… I…"

"Last night?" Mei asked, frowning. Then it dawned on her. "Oh last night. On the couch. That was um… that…"

"Yeah…"

"I was actually going to thank you again. I know—" she said quickly, cutting off his protest, "that you don't think I need to thank you but I disagree. I don't think you realize just how much you've done for both of us. Not just materially, thought you've done plenty for us in that area.

"You've been like a father to Nina when she's never had one before and I... I don't think I could ever thank you enough."

"You don't have to, I would—"

"That's not all you've done. You've… you did something I thought would never happen again. After Austin, I was convinced that love was for people who wanted to get hurt. Every time I saw someone in love, I would feel sorry for them because I knew that their happiness would end. I thought the only person I would ever love was Nina." Al felt his breath hitch and his heart beat a little faster.

"So I guess that's the last thing I have to thank you for… Helping me fall in love again."

"You… you love me?"

Mei nodded mutely, watching his expression carefully. It was hard for Al to pick apart the mass of emotions roiling around in himself. There was only he could fully decipher.

"Mei, you don't have to thank me for that. If anything, I should thank you. I never thought I would ever meet someone I was this crazy over."

"Do you really mean it?" she asked, biting her lip. "I've heard empty love confessions before and been hurt because of them."

"Mei, I don't think I've ever said truer words. You are strong, and beautiful, and so incredibly intelligent, your daughter is the cutest little girl I've ever met, including my own niece, and I would never let anything horrible happen to either of you. I would rather die first."

He was staring intently into her eyes, trying to make her understand. She had to understand. He meant every word. He didn't know how it had happened, but the few months they had spent together had convinced him one hundred percent.

"I love you."

She inhaled sharply.

"I mean it. One hundred percent."

He didn't know how it happened, or who moved first, or if they moved together at the same time, but then they were kissing. It was very simple, just lips pressed against lips. They pulled apart and Al smiled at her, cupping her neck with a hand. He was aware of taking the lead as he met her lips again.

* * *

><p>"What's wrong with you?" Where the first words out of Ed's mouth once the door had been opened.<p>

"It's good to see you too, Brother," Al said cheerfully, hugging his brother. Ed threw a casual arm around his brother before continuing with his tirade. It was obviously practiced.

"You disappear to some random far flung corner of the globe, leaving us behind—"

"Xing is hardly a far flung corner of the globe," Al muttered under his breath.

"And then you call us randomly and tell us 'Oh yeah guys, I'm moving back here!' and then as if that wasn't enough proceed to tell us that you're married with a five year old kid. What exactly were you doing five years ago, Al? What happened to the look you gave me and Winry when we found out Winry was pregnant two months after our wedding?"

"Ed!" Al protested, ducking under his brother's arm and turning around to take Nina from Mei's arms so she could manage the luggage better. "Nina came from Mei's previous marriage. She's not biologically my daughter."

"Oh."

"Yeah. Oh. Geez Ed, why did I want to come home again?"

"Because you love and missed your older brother," Mei said dropping the luggage in the hallway. "Though meeting him now, I don't see why…"

"Hey! You don't get to insult me until you've been a part of the family at least a year!" Ed protested, only to get his head smacked by his wife a few moments later.

"It's your own fault you're an easy target," Winry said, coming up from behind him. "It's so good to see you again Al!" Winry hugged her brother-in-law before moving over to hug Mei.

"I'm so glad we get to meet you! I was worried that Al would never get off his butt and meet a nice girl. And get a kid in the deal too."

"You must be Winry," Mei smiled. Al had described the blond mechanic with many kind and flattering words which Mei couldn't find any fault with. They all seemed to true to her.

"Daddy," Nina said frowning. "Is this your brother?"

Al and Mei stopped and stared at the girl. Ed raised an eyebrow.

"What? You don't want her to know that I'm your brother? Ashamed, Al?"

"No it's not that," Al said, staring at the child in his arms who was resting her head against his chest, completely unaware the effect her words had had. "It's… that's first time she's ever called me Daddy."

"Are you okay with that?" Mei asked, slight worry on her face. Al just smiled at her and held Nina a little closer.

"I love it."

* * *

><p><strong>Yay! Super long AU over! Warm fuzzies!<strong>

**Please review! I'm actually very interested to hear your opinions on this one.**


	49. Qianxun

**Not sure I like this format. But I've had the situation planned for for-eva! So. Glad to use it. But I realized that this one chapter that I had planned is gonna have to get cut in the grand scheme of things.**

**So sad. ~My math teacher**

**Anyways. Thanks to Exile Wrath who helped me figure out how to end the thing! And to Blondiebookworm who drew a picture of Nina from last chapter! There's a link to her tumblr (where she posted it) on my profile, so go check it out! She's super cute. **

* * *

><p>Al had already bought the train tickets for Chengshi when Mei informed him that they weren't heading straight for the capital. At first he was a little disappointed that he had spent the money and they weren't even going where he was planning on, but then he re-realized that traveling with a very possible future ruler of Xing has its perks. They were able to refund to pay for wagon ride directly to Qianxun.<p>

Mei, who had not returned to the place of her birth and childhood since she was called to the palace to actively participate in court (then teach Alphonse, then travel the East, then help him in Amestris…), was both apprehensive and excited about the trip. Which was well evidenced by the endless stream of chatter she kept up traveling there. She covered every piece of information he would ever possibly and conceivably need to know and a great deal that he would not. After about an hour though, he mostly just blanked out and watched her.

"Alphonse? Did you hear that?"

"What? Oh yeah. Your cousin."

"My cousin what?"

"Uh… her name is Teich Quy."

"You haven't been paying attention to anything I've been saying, have you?" He shook his head, sheepish smile on his face. Mei just rolled her eyes and shoved his shoulder, making him fall over.

"Hey!"

"That's what you get!"

"How so!"

"You weren't listening!"

"Well… you were rambling!"

"So?"

"… you were."

"You're still supposed to listen, even if I was! Good friends listen!" He couldn't help it. He flinched a little. He moved forward, hoping she didn't noticed but she had stopped and looked at him oddly.

"Al?"

"I uh… twisted my foot funny, it's alright."

She gave him an odd and slightly worried look, then continued her lecturing.

* * *

><p>Al already considered himself pretty in-love with the country for Xing already. The food, the culture, most of the people… But driving through the Chang providence gave him an all new look that made him fall even more in love.<p>

There were rows upon rows of rice fields and people hard at work and seemingly random swaths of twisting trees accompanied by patches of flowers and odd plant life. The people working would stop and watch as the wagon drove through and Mei would stand up and wave to them as she passed. Those who recognized her cheered and waved back.

"You're pretty popular," he remarked wryly as they passed one field where the workers literally ran out into the street and following the wagon.

Mei blushed slightly. "There's been a lot of progression for the Chang clan in the last few years. A lot of the them give me credit for always vouching for them to Ling. Even if I didn't become Empress, a lot of good things have happened thanks to me."

"Really, Mei, that's amazing. I'd be cheering and shouting for you too."

Mei smiled at him and he smiled back.

* * *

><p>Al was actually quite surprised when Mei began introducing him to her assembled family. As a guest, it was tradition for the entire family to appear and greet him, apparently something only practiced in the southern providences. They were all lined up and bowing and smiling and even shaking his hand (one of her uncles informed Al that she had long ago taught them a few of his country's odd customs).<p>

"And this is Teich Quy. She's the eldest daughter of my eldest uncle."

"I would have married the Emperor had he not abolished the tradition of 50 wives," Teich Quy clarified, holding out her hand for Al to… kiss? Shake? Eventually he just decided on a hand shake and while the girl did look the slightest bit disappointed, she didn't curse at him and his ancestors, so he had to assume he was at least partially right.

She couldn't have been much older than Mei, probably about the same age. Maybe a little older, maybe a little younger. She was definitely taller though. Though she did keep her hair shorter and only in one braid down her back. But of course, it wasn't that hard to be taller than Mei and keep your hair shorter than her.

Then he continued moving down the line. Smile, nod, bow, smile, shake a hand, bow, nod…

"So you're Alphonse Elric, huh?" one of the male cousins asked after Al bowed politely to him.

"Yes, I am."

"Mei's talked a lot about you."

"Has she?" Al asked, half smiling. He looked at Mei and she turned a little pink.

"She has. Quite a few glowing things as well. Though, while my measurement conversion may not be the best, I am fairly sure you're not actually seven feet tall."

Al blinked a few times before he understood what the man was saying. "Oh. Oh! Yeah." He laughed awkwardly. "No, I'm not actually seven feet tall. But for most of the time I knew Mei in Amestris, I wore this seven foot tall suit of armor to… uh… protect myself."

* * *

><p>The room he was given for the three nights they were staying there before heading up to Chengshi was fairly large and very accommodating. Though she probably shouldn't have for her ancestor's pride, she told him that a few years ago this had been an empty room because they had sold everything in it to raise money. That they had managed to fill it up again and without removing any items from other room was just a testament to how much things had progressed.<p>

He finished brushing her hair shortly after she explained this, and she gave him a hug before leaving his room.

They had an awkward time explaining why Mei was seen coming from Al's room alone the next morning.

* * *

><p>Mei frequently took him out on trips while they were there. Xiao Mei was completely content to go along with the trips as a couple of them included memory lane trips. She showed him the place where she had first found the panda, her favorite place to sneak away and read novels, the best spot to see the sun rise.<p>

She even showed him the place where she became inspired to learn alkahestry.

It wasn't that exciting, just a tree next to a road near a rice field.

"What happened here?"

"I was watching some men and women working in the fields. I didn't see the exact circumstance, but all of a sudden a man was screaming and he was in pain and bleeding and… I wanted to help him but I didn't know how to, so I just stayed here and watched while he was carried off, getting blood over the plants and in the water. I think he was even punished for that later.

"The fact that I couldn't do anything about it at all… I wanted to be able to. I convinced everyone to let me by telling that that it would be a good method to protect myself and it passed. I think the Emperor let me just to see how far I'd be able to get before someone finally offed me."

"That's horrible… Your father and the man. But that you reacted like that… "

"I know, Al. I'm amazing."

They both laughed and continued on.

* * *

><p>Al was simply walking around the halls when he spotted a familiar face. It took him almost a full fifteen minutes of staring at the man to place him, but he managed to almost as soon as the man turned, looked at Al, and turned an odd redpale color.

"Rou! How are you?"

The Xingese man turned around and ran.

* * *

><p>Al was very surprised when he found himself completely alone with the eldest daughter of the incumbent clan leader. Teich Quy had asked for his opinion on a flower in the garden and he had more than willingly agreed to do so. While the garden was nowhere near the size or diversity of the Imperial garden, it smelled just as sweet.<p>

He hadn't expected her to hold onto his arm and place her head on his shoulder.

"Ummm…"

"It's beautiful, is it not?"

"Uh, very," he said, trying to shake her off his arm without being obvious about it.

"Alphonse," she said in a similar tone to that of before, only more… purposeful? "You are aware that I was betrothed to the Emperor, correct?"

"Yes, I am."

"And now that I am not, I have been given the right to choose my own husband."

"Oh, really?" he asked, still trying to figure out how to get her off him without being rude. "That's great!"

"It is," she agreed. Was it just him or was she tightening her grip? "And I think I have found the one I wish to."

Al blinked. She was a bit young to be marrying though, wasn't she? He knew girls got married slightly earlier here in Xing (he was well aware of this fact. Ling had brought it up. Many times.), but she was two years younger than Mei, only 16. Even that was a little young.

"Already?"

"Yes. And I think his name is Elric."

Once again, Al was a little too preoccupied with getting her off him to fully comprehend was she was saying.

"My brother's already married."

She shot him a confused look.

"Alphonse Elric."

"Yes?"

She frowned at him and let go of his arm.

"I am proposing to you."

He blinked.

"Oh. OH! Um…"

"I am very influential as the oldest daughter of the clan leader. I know that we are not the most important clan, but our influence is growing. In a few years and with your help we could grow in power." She was smiling widely at him, blinking her eyes slowing in a way that was probably supposed to "ensnare" him or something.

"I'm really, really flattered Tiech Quy, but… you see in Amestris, we usually marry the people that we love. Because we love them and uh, want to spend our lives with said person. Uh, that we love. And uh… I don't love you. I actually barely know you. At all."

"What does that matter?" He looked into her eyes. She was serious.

"… I want to marry someone I love. And you're not… someone that I love…" he said, trying to smile, but pretty much dying inside. This was so terribly awkward.

She frowned at him.

"You don't want to marry me."

"… No."

"Because you love Mei." Al turned red. Was it really that obvious?

"Uh… yes."

The frown deepened, then she threw her hands up in the air and stormed away shouting "Mei always gets everything!"

Al was too stunned by the statement to do anything.

* * *

><p>Mei was very confused as to why Tiech Quy burst into her room as she finished packing up the few items that had been displaced during their three day stay.<p>

Especially when she started shouting in rapid Xingese about "stealing men", "always have", "favorite grandchild", and "not fair".

"What on earth are you talking about, Quy?"

"I'm talking about everything! You always get what you want, you were always Grandfather's favorite, you always get all the boys and the adventures and—"

"What do you mean I always get all the boys?"

"You always do! All the boys in the village, Rou, the Fullmetal Alchemist, Alphonse! It's not fair!"

Mei really didn't have much of a response to that.

"Rou's only ever been a friend, the Fullmetal Alchemist is a short jerk and married, and Alphonse isn't mine." Unfortunately.

"Well he sure seems to think he is," her cousin responded before turning around and marching away.

* * *

><p><strong>Guys. Next chapter. Chapter 50. 50! That's crazy! I've got something big planned for it!<strong>

**And yes. Rou as in "You're My Princess" Rou. Still hasn't forgotten/forgiven Al.**


	50. Good For the Soul

**I have to give a big shout out thank you to my little sister for helping me out with this chapter! I really wanted to make it the best it could be because I've been wanting to write/post this chapter for FOREVER and it was really annoying when I found I couldn't even end it right. Goodness.**

**And while I'm at it, I'm gonna take the time to thank every single person who's reviewed and Favorited and followed. I really wish I could go through and thank all of you for all the support and love you've given me, but there are just too many of you which is another huge thing to thank you all for. I really honestly and truly cannot express how awesome and amazing and special you all make me feel. It's crazy. So thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you from the bottom of my heart! I would not have gotten this far without all of you.**

**And so, without further ado, chapter 50.**

* * *

><p>"Actually, Alphonse, I would like to talk to you for a moment." Al paused on his way out of his chair and towards the exit.<p>

The court session had come to an end over an hour ago, but the Elders, Ling, Al and Mei were still present in the throne room. Mostly because after the court session had ended, they had both been forced to sit and listen as the Elders gave them a well-rehearsed, and yes, one hour long rant about the abandon of duties and irresponsibility of their actions and their improper behavior and that it was only their good position with the Emperor that kept from further punishment.

It had been quite exhausting, and Al was not looking forward to whatever it was Ling was stopping him from leaving to talk to him about.

Mei stopped, halfway out of her own chair and looked back at him, question on her face. Al shrugged. He had no idea what Ling wanted with him.

"Alone, too, please," the Emperor continued, giving a pointed stare to the Elders. They looked offended for a little bit before shooting him affronted looks and following the Chang heiress out of the door.

Al was left alone in the large throne room with Ling.

"Alphonse Elric," he said imperiously, before hopping off his throne and walking down so they were standing closer. "What am I supposed to do with you?"

"Do with me?"

"You present a very, very big problem that I have spent a lot of time, effort and money trying to figure out. And not only do you not acknowledge my efforts, which is understandable, but you seem to spite them. Why do you spite my hard work, Al?"

Al frankly had no idea what Ling was going on about.

"… huh?"

"I think it's only fair that after all I've done to give you the opportunity you want, that you at least attempt to take it. I'm by no means claiming to have done half of the work for you, but I have cleared the way for you to do the work. And you've already done a lot of that. So what's holding you back?"

"What do you mean what's holding me back? What's holding me back from what?"

Ling gave him a look.

"Mei."

Al really didn't have much of a response to that except to turn bright red.

"What are you talking—"

"Please Al, don't treat me like I'm stupid."

"I wasn't—"

"You're completely obvious and everyone knows it," Ling said briskly, blowing past Al's protestations. "Do you have any idea how far I've had to stick out my neck for you two? You know I fought for weeks with the Elders to allow you and Mei to leave together. And when she disappeared with you off to Amestris, I had a field day trying to get them not to disown her and kick you out of the country forever on the spot! And none of this was made easier when I got a telegram from the Chang Providence's leader demanding to know why I allowed a foreigner to court his niece without first consulting him."

"He did what?"

"You heard me, Al. In fact from what he described in his letter, I'm surprised he asked about courting and not an engagement."

The pink coloring was turning more red.

"But I've continued to stick out my neck for you and take it all in stride and protect you two because I can see that you're in love." Definitely red now. "But then you two show up, and you're still at the exact same spot you were two years ago! I don't know what your issue is, but you need to fix it."

"She's doesn't even know how I feel," Al admitted, staring at his shoes.

"Then fix that." The bluntness made him splutter.

"What- but… but how? Where? When? I can't just go up to her and tell her!"

"Why not?"

Al's jaw fell down. "Why not? You took forever to tell Lan Fan!"

"I did," Ling agreed, nodding. "And that's why I'm probably the best to tell you to get a move on. Because I'm infinitely happier being able to have my feeling out in the open with her. And I can tell you there's nothing quite like knowing she feels the same way."

"But I don't even know if she feels the same way!"

Ling stopped and stared at Al with a look on his face that made the already awkward conversation even more awkward.

"… Is it possible to get eyesight problems from staring blankly at a flat white expanse for four years?"

"… what?"

"I think you developed some serious sight problems while your body was in the Gate because that's the only way to describe the very real and serious blindness you seem to be experiencing."

"…"

Ling continued to stare in disbelief. "Seriously?" No response. "Okay fine. Then I'm not giving you a choice. You may be an Amestrian citizen, but because of your position I still have the authority to order you around. You are going to tell the Princess of your feelings at 8:00 tonight by the lily pond in the gardens. Pick her some flowers or something. Be yourself, it's what she likes. Sorry, loves. And no, you don't have a choice. I'll make sure no one's in the area for you. Dismissed."

Ling really was being completely sincere in trying to get the Amestrian together with his little sister—finally, but really, the look on his face when he blew past everything he said… it was just too good to pass up the opportunity.

* * *

><p>Mei was waiting for him outside of the door, pacing in front of the door aimlessly. What were they talking about in there? There was no yelling and or shouting which meant it couldn't have been something terrible. Was it about Ed? Or… her? Some of the Elders had been giving her dirty looks as they walked by her, but that could easily have just been from the previous subject matter.<p>

"Al?" she had to call out to him to get him to turn and look at her. He was walking with his head down and was muttering slightly to himself. And his cheeks were red.

What?

He saw her and the color in his face intensified.

"What did Ling want to talk to you about?"

"… nothing much," he said, distractedly as he stared at her face, a little uncomfortably. "I uh… Things need to change."

She frowned. "What do you mean, Al?"

"What?"

"You just said things need to change. What needs to change?" She was just trying to make conversation and figure out what was going on. She did not expect him to turn red and start muttering fiercely to himself.

"Al?"

"Nothing!" he shouted, quickly.

"I didn't ask you anything…" Now he was starting to scare her. What had they talked about?

"Oh. Right. Uh…" She frowned at him, now concerned.

"Al, are you okay?"

"… no. Uh, Mei, we need to talk." For some reason, she could feel something dropping out of her stomach. This did not seem right. Something was off.

"What about?"

"About… about us."

Her heart started hammering. Us? What did he have to say about them that would make him this worried and off-kilter? What would Ling have said to him that would make him this… this?

"What about us?" He didn't answer, still just staring at his feet. Her heart started beating faster as a horrible idea presented itself to him.

Al was a nice person. He wouldn't want to hurt her feeling over anything, but he was also too nice to lie to her through his actions or anything else. And if the two desires conflicted he would act exactly like this.

He wasn't going to… Had she been too obvious about her feelings? Had he finally decided that he couldn't lead her on anymore? Was he finally going to say those words she had been dreading…?

"… Uh… Meet me in the gardens tonight, please. About eight? Near the lily pond. Please." There was a lump in her throat.

"Yeah, sure. No problem."

"And… come alone? As in… no Xiao Mei?"

He was worried about Xiao Mei getting angry and biting him.

Oh no…

Mei nodded and bit her tongue, not trusting herself to speak.

He nodded, still distracted, and walked off down the hall muttering to himself again.

Mei continued to stay in place, trying to not let any tears fall from her eyes.

* * *

><p>It was bitingly cold as Mei stood near the tree that overlooked the lily pond and she had to rub her arms viciously to keep them warm. She loved this spot in the garden, but she had the horrible feeling sitting in the pit of her stomach that she would soon hate it beyond any other.<p>

"Hi, Mei." His voice was quiet and hesitant, a sure sign that he was nervous. He didn't know how she was going to react—he was scared.

"Hi, Alphonse," she said just as quietly in response, heart starting to beat faster again.

There was silence.

"Do you remember the last time we were here together?" Mei asked, smiling slightly. He smiled hesitantly in response.

"You mean when we set Ling and Lan Fan up and they ended up kissing?"

"Yeah."

Silence again. Then Al coughed.

"Mei, there's something I need to tell you."

Her heart caught in her throat. Here it was. It was coming and she wasn't sure she would be able to hear it. But she had to let him say it at least.

"What is it, Al?" she asked, placing her hand on his arm. He lips twitched when she did so but then he continued forward.

"I wasn't planning on telling you, but I don't want to go another day without you knowing. I don't want to make anything awkward between us, Mei, I value our friendship too much." She was almost certain of it. He didn't want her to continue thinking he could ever possibly love her.

"Al, I—"

"Please wait, I want to be able to finish." She frowned, but didn't say anything.

"I've … I've known for a long time, but I haven't told you because like I said I don't want things to be awkward and if you don't feel the same way I promise that I won't act on it. I thought for a long time that it wasn't what it was and I was trying to deny it and then I just knew and things got awkward and I hated that and I don't want it to happen again." He paused again.

"The truth is … well… the truth is…"

He took a deep breath and stared directly in her eyes.

"I love you, Mei."

Her breath caught.

"I don't know how long I have, but I've known for almost two years now. And apparently I haven't been subtle about it at all because pretty much everyone's predicted it."

He stopped and stared at her with his huge golden eyes that she had grown to love more than any others. She had seen them closed shut in pain, in laughter, and in embarrassment. She had seen them wide in laughter and anticipation. She loved his eyes. She loved his hair, his smile, his laugh, his brain, his compassion, his protectiveness, his determination, his politeness, his never ending kindness.

She loved him.

She couldn't answer him, brain still trying to catch up to the rapid change. She had thought that he was going to do the complete opposite of what he just did. She had thought he was going to be telling her goodbye, not that he loved her.

Apparently he took her silence as a bad sign, though, because his shoulders slumped and he nodded, a fake smile on his face.

"That's fine. It's … it's completely fine."

"Al…"

"No, Mei, I'm serious. That's fine. I understand." There were signs of deep hurt in his eyes. "You don't feel the same way, and I can be—"

"No, you idiot."

"What?" Mei smiled, stepping closer to him. There was still hurt in his eyes, but now there was confusion as well.

"I love you too."

Now it was his turn to stare at her blankly.

"… You do?" She smiled wider and didn't even notice the tears that were starting to leak from her eyes, just nodding. "You do?" he asked again, this time voice sounding completely awed. "How long?"

"I never stopped. From Amestris. I had thought that it was a silly little crush but then when you came, you were so kind and happy and handsome and smart and wonderful it grew it something much more. I… I thought you… I was afraid you didn't feel the same way."

"Why do you think I didn't tell you? I've been terrified that you felt differently!"

Mei started laughing as the tears fell from her eyes. Al joined in and gently cupped the back of her neck with his hand then bent down so they were terribly close.

She met him on tip-toes.

The kiss didn't last long. It was simple. It was gentle. Lips on lips pressed together for a few short seconds before both parties pulled away. Then Al smiled and whispered the same words.

"I love you."

"I love you."

And they kissed again. And again. Until they were both laughing and smiling at each other when he picked her up and threatened to throw her in the pond to which she shrieked and retaliated by almost throwing him in.

"How are we going to do this?" he asked, as they, laughing, fell on to the grass near the pond, lying side by side. "We both have responsibilities to our countries and our families and you're the princess. I know Ling will support us, but—"

"Al, don't worry," she said calmly, reaching over and touching his face gently. "It doesn't matter what they do or say because we love each other. And… being in love is good for the soul. And the soul is the one thing that no one could ever take away from you. As long as we have that… it doesn't matter."

He smiled at her, then pulled her close and kissed her again.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

And they, smiling, laughing, and loving, laid near the lily pond under the stars, happy to finally be with each other entirely.

_~Fin~_

* * *

><p><strong>And here we find the end of Good For the Soul. 50 chapters, one week away from one entire year, and up to their love confession, I fear that if it continued it'd become an out of control monster. But do not fear! There is going to be a sequel up continuing from this point on! So keep your eyes open for that.<strong>

**And once again, enormous amounts of gratitude to all of you guys. You made this entire journey possible.**

**And remember, AlMei is always going to be good for the soul.**

**3 ClosetFMAFan**


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